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A gentle breeze caresses a palm tree near a Middle Eastern desert town. Armed men in a spartan room stand on guard as motionless young boys have their heads shaved clean. All have blank stares save one who looks straight at us with eyes brimming with menace. It’s a subtle way by French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve to immediately grab our attention, something that’s never relinquished during the 2011 Oscar-nominated film Incendies.

Spoken in Arabic and French with English subtitles, Incendies revolves around the last wishes of recently departed Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal, Body of Lies). At the reading of her will, Nawal’s notary and former boss (Remy Girard) instructs her twins, Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Taking the Plunge) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette, Polytechnique) to deliver letters to a father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew existed.

Both siblings are overwhelmed, yet Jeanne is willing to journey from a depressed-looking French Canada to the Middle East to find her father. In contrast, Simon simmers with anger and wants no part of tracking down his family tree. Jeanne is thus alone when she finds her mother’s hometown where she’s soon told to leave because Nawal had disgraced the Marwan family.

Jeanne runs into a dead end while trying to find their father, but uncovers other secrets so horrendous that her pleas for help break Simon’s reluctance. Not long after his arrival, with Nawal’s loyal notary in-tow, Simon is able to unearth a final revelation which will forever change them.

Adapted from the play by Wajdi Mouawad, Incendies pulls off the difficult trick of switching between past and present. The transitions are smooth, which allows the initially somber pacing to build steadily to a gut-wrenching climax.

The story’s well-written script brilliantly examines the fragility of humanity when it’s shrouded in the fog of war.

Villeneuve’s three principals, highlighted by Azabal’s gritty performance, are consistent throughout. The one quibble is that the character of Simon is a little underdeveloped with a lop-sided amount of camera time going towards Desormeaux-Polin’s Jeanne.

Overall, Incendies is simply one of the best modern day war dramas ever to have been made.

On a letter grade scale from “A” being excellent to “F” for failing, Incendies receives an A.

Incendies is rated R and has a running time of 130 minutes. 

Now showing through June 9 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for more information. 

Glenwood at Red Bridge
11118 Holmes, KCMO
Visit www.fineartsgroup.com or call 816-942-1131 for more information.

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.