---
title: "Incendies"
year: 2010
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/incendies"
fi1m_id: "incendies"
imdb_id: "tt1255953"
tmdb_id: 46738
wikidata_id: "Q1212650"
fi1m_score: 82
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 15
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:33.305044+00:00"
region: "SE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Incendies (2010)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve · 2h 11m · Statens medieråd 15 · Drama, War, Mystery

## Identity

Incendies

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/incendies
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** incendies
- **IMDb ID:** tt1255953
- **TMDB ID:** 46738
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1212650
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255953/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/46738, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1212650

**Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 72 from 15 reviews

*In a sentence:* Two letters are quite enough family history for one evening

> Denis Villeneuve’s *Incendies* is a harrowing family mystery, worth seeing for Lubna Azabal’s restrained performance and its patient storytelling. Some contrived plotting weakens the effect without making the suffering any easier to watch.

## Synopsis

Jeanne Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon Marwan (Maxim Gaudette) try to uncover their mother Nawal’s hidden past. Two letters, one intended for a brother and the other for a father, lie at the centre of the twins’ investigation. Lubna Azabal plays Nawal, whose life unfolds in flashbacks amid Middle Eastern conflict, while Rémy Girard plays Notary Lebel. As the film moves between the mother’s experiences and her children’s investigation, questions about family identity lead back to violence that reaches across generations.

## Review

Denis Villeneuve’s *Incendies* asks how much children can know about a parent who has kept her past from them. It is a harrowing, absorbing film, worth seeing despite a screenplay that relies too heavily on coincidence. Jeanne and Simon Marwan’s search runs alongside flashbacks to their mother Nawal’s life amid Middle Eastern conflict. Villeneuve gives the investigation enough suspense to make us impatient for answers, then makes learning about that life difficult to bear.

Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette have the difficult task of keeping the children’s investigation alive beside the more forceful material given to Azabal. Their performances make the need to know feel personal, although the writing sometimes confines them to asking the next question. Rémy Girard, as Notary Lebel, is welcome for the calm he brings to such solemn material. These quieter performances are useful in a film so committed to making each discovery hurt.

Azabal carries the greatest burden, playing Nawal across the history the children are trying to recover. Her Nawal seems to be using up energy simply keeping her feelings under control. We were moved by that effort, especially by the anger that remains present when she is quiet. She allows the character dignity without making endurance look effortless or admirable in itself. The scenes depend on her ability to hold our attention without continually increasing the emotional pressure.

André Turpin’s cinematography gives Nawal’s past the same immediacy as the investigation, so the flashbacks never feel like illustrations supplied to explain a clue. André-Line Beauparlant’s production design gives the Middle Eastern passages a sense of daily life continuing around the family’s ordeal. That matters because the screenplay is inclined to make every part of this history serve the mystery, and the surroundings help us imagine lives it cannot follow.

Monique Dartonne’s editing is just as important to the film’s control. Cutting between the investigation and Nawal’s past, she keeps the relationships between the timelines clear while making each return feel necessary. The pace allows information to register instead of treating confusion as a useful source of suspense. Grégoire Hetzel’s score reinforces the solemnity, occasionally more firmly than the performances need. This is already a grave film, and the music’s insistence can make the quieter stretches feel overemphasised.

The principal reservation lies with the screenplay by Villeneuve and Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. Its determination to connect the family’s history to the violence around it makes some lives seem improbably convenient to the story. The coincidences require a degree of belief that the sober treatment has not prepared us to give. Family mysteries often run into this problem: each connection can be satisfying on its own, while the accumulation starts to feel arranged. Here the actors have to keep overcoming our doubts about the writing.

The 131 minutes are demanding, and the restraint should not be mistaken for gentleness. Villeneuve gives suffering time to register, with Azabal doing much of the work that makes it bearable to watch. This is worth an evening for those performances, provided a family mystery is not being chosen as light distraction. Leave some quiet afterwards, rather than putting on another film.

*Fi1m score 82, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond positively to Incendies, praising Denis Villeneuve’s handling of a family mystery shaped by conflict and inherited violence. The praise centres on Lubna Azabal’s restrained performance as the mother, which gives emotional credibility to material that frequently approaches melodrama. The reviews also admire the suspense built through movement between past and present, the force of the imagery and the adaptation’s expansion beyond its stage origins.

The main disagreement concerns whether the plotting earns its emotional force. More persuaded critics find a serious tragedy about memory, identity and hatred; others find the coincidences too contrived and the suffering manipulative. Sight and Sound praises the precise editing and sensitive handling of horrific material, while Slant Magazine finds gripping filmmaking but little understanding beneath the sensation. The spread runs from strong admiration to mixed assessments, with even sceptical reviews acknowledging the performances or Villeneuve’s ability to sustain tension.

## Straight answers

**Is Incendies worth watching?**

*Incendies* is worth watching for anyone prepared for a harrowing family mystery, and we scored it 82. Lubna Azabal's restrained performance as Nawal and Denis Villeneuve's patient handling of the two timelines carry it, although the screenplay leans too heavily on coincidence. Do not choose it as light distraction, and leave some quiet afterwards.

**How long is Incendies, and what is it rated?**

*Incendies* runs 2h 11m and is rated 15 by the Statens medieråd in Sweden. It is a drama and war film.

**Where can I watch Incendies in Sweden?**

*Incendies* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Sweden. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Incendies, and is it suitable for children?**

*Incendies* is a 15 in the UK and R in the US, and it is not suitable for children. The violence of Middle Eastern conflict reaches across the family's history, and Villeneuve gives suffering time to register rather than hurrying past it. Teenagers who can take a grave, slow film should manage; the squeamish and the easily distressed should think twice.

**How does Incendies compare to The Sweet Hereafter?**

*Incendies* is the more suspenseful of the two, a family mystery that shifts between a mother's past and her children's investigation, while [*The Sweet Hereafter*](https://film.one/film/the-sweet-hereafter) is a quieter study of a bereaved town. Both move patiently through time and both show the seams of their arrangement. The Egoyan is for those who want silence to do the work; the Villeneuve is for those who want answers, however hard they are to bear.

**What should I watch after Incendies?**

After *Incendies*, try [*The Official Story*](https://film.one/film/the-official-story) (1985, Fi1m 81): A family’s private doubts lead into public violence, with equally difficult questions. Then [*The Sweet Hereafter*](https://film.one/film/the-sweet-hereafter) (1997, Fi1m 88): Patient shifts through time reveal how grief changes a community’s relationships; and [*Caché*](https://film.one/film/cache) (2005, Fi1m 88): A family mystery that makes looking away from the past increasingly difficult.

### Reviews we read (19)

- **Empire**, David Parkinson (85/100, inferred): Villeneuve opens out the play effectively, generating thriller-like suspense through flashbacks while exploring themes of conflict and fate. The critic singles out the performances, imagery, and Villeneuve's restraint as key strengths. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/incendies-review/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Betsy Sharkey (80/100, inferred): The review highlights Villeneuve's best-realized work yet, a modern tragedy driven by beauty and rage that contemplates the legacy of hatred across generations. Lubna Azabal's soulful, restrained performance as Nawal is singled out for making the story's operatic extremes chillingly real. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-apr-22-la-et-incendies-20110422-story.html)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Stephen Farber (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's lucid storytelling of a mother's hidden past amid Middle Eastern conflict, calling it a thoughtful, mesmerizing mystery with strong performances and gripping sequences. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/incendies-film-review-30013/)
- **The Independent** (80/100, inferred): Denis Villeneuve's adaptation strips away layers of a tormented family drama toward a jolting conclusion. The critic highlights the suspenseful cutting between past and present, the intense performances (especially Lubna Azabal), and the exploration of violence and legacy in a Middle Eastern setting. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/incendies-15-2301806.html)
- **The Telegraph**, David Gritten (80/100, inferred): Incendies is a scorching, sobering achievement tracing a family's tragic history amid Middle Eastern conflict through powerful flashbacks. It delivers universal tragedy with strong performances, especially from Lubna Azabal. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/8581916/Incendies-Universal-tragedy-with-fire-in-its-heart.html)
- **Evening Standard** (75/100, inferred): Villeneuve successfully opens out the stage play without losing its impact. The review praises the intelligent handling of the twins' search for their mother's past and the emotional force of the revelations about imprisonment, rape, and torture. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/incendies-review-7425499.html)
- **The Times** (75/100, inferred): This elegant parable spans decades and continents to explore family identity and humanity's extremes through a mother's hidden past. Villeneuve navigates complex timelines masterfully, though the twist delivers a melodramatic punch softened by intelligent storytelling. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/incendies-2gqt550b9xc)
- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (75/100, inferred): The critic calls the stage-to-screen adaptation a bold, spare slow-burn detective story that mixes thriller elements with political commentary and vaults Villeneuve to serious-director status. Lubna Azabal's enthralling performance spanning the mother's life is praised, though the film is noted as remaining somewhat didactic. [Read](https://variety.com/2010/film/markets-festivals/incendies-1117943471/)
- **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The journey through trauma and discovery is compelling and delicately staged despite a far-fetched coincidence at the end; the Lebanese scenes have impressive local flavor and dramatic restraint. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/-scorched-incendies/5017775.article)
- **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (B-): The film is an agonizingly well-crafted but manipulative slog through emotional extremes with unlikely twists that undermine the project, though it features powerful sequences and style. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/incendies-1798168010)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (3/5): The film is an intriguing but flawed drama set during the Lebanese civil war, following twins uncovering their mother's dark past. It gains force as a cinematic prose-poem despite contrived coincidences in its revelations. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jun/23/incendies-review)
- **Time Out**, David Jenkins (3/5): The film offers strong performances and vivid visuals of the Middle East but is undermined by a weak, far-fetched and contrived mystery plot that lacks credibility. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/incendies-1)
- **Slant Magazine**, Andrew Schenker (50/100, inferred): The film is an enormously effective piece of filmmaking with gripping revelations and tension, but it ultimately delivers empty sensation and contrived melodrama rather than deeper understanding. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/incendies/)
- **Film Comment**, Scott Foundas: The critic calls Incendies magnificent and compares its tragic inevitability to Aeschylus. They praise Villeneuve’s command of the camera, actors and material, noting its smart geopolitics, emotional complexity and shattering cumulative effect as the jigsaw of revelations snaps into place. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/foundas-on-film-water-for-elephants-and-incendies/)
- **Sight and Sound**, Roger Clarke: Villeneuve sensitively adapts the play into a Greek tragedy of family trauma amid Middle Eastern conflict, avoiding sensationalism while revealing horrors through precise editing and strong performances, especially Lubna Azabal's. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/6296)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (Critic's Pick): The critic views the film as a quest narrative with the structure of an ancient folk tale, praising its meditation on memory, identity and kinship. Lubna Azabal's restrained yet powerful performance as the mother stands out as the emotional core. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/22/movies/incendies-based-on-wajdi-mouawad-play-review.html)
- **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B-): The film is mostly a competent and engaging ride with strong performances and visuals, but is ultimately held back by an overly shocking and soap-opera-like final plot twist that deflates the story. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-incendies-a-strong-film-ultimately-held-back-by-a-nauseating-final-plot-twist-20110421/)
- **Paste**, Paste Staff (6.6/10): The review finds Incendies a captivating spectacle and tour de force of suspenseful storytelling comparable to a Bourne movie, but ultimately hollow as a film of ideas due to ridiculous, melodramatic revelations and an alienating lack of real-world specificity. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dennis-villenueve/incendies)
- **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson: The critic notes that Villeneuve embraces melodrama in adapting the play to explore arbitrary hatred and identity turmoil, but finds the heavy-handed metaphor and stagey approach lend an air of unreality to some scenes while convoluting the timeline. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/incendies-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## Details

- **Director:** Denis Villeneuve
- **Director:** Denis Villeneuve
- **Screenplay:** Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, Denis Villeneuve
- **Cinematography:** André Turpin
- **Editor:** Monique Dartonne
- **Music:** Grégoire Hetzel
- **Production design:** André-Line Beauparlant
- **Costume design:** Sophie Lefebvre
- **Producer:** Kim McCraw, Luc Déry
- **Cast:** Lubna Azabal as Nawal; Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne Marwan; Maxim Gaudette as Simon Marwan; Rémy Girard as Notary Lebel; Allen Altman as Notaire Maddad; Abdelghafour Elaaziz as Abou Tarek; Dominique Briand as Professor Niv Cohen; Frédéric Paquet as Doctor in the Emergency Room
- **Runtime:** 2h 11m
- **Certificate (Statens medieråd):** 15
- **Release (Sweden):** 12 August 2011
- **Genres:** Drama, War, Mystery
- **Budget:** $7 million
- **Box office:** $7 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ69WnwvZhE

## Where to watch in Sweden

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: BE, BR, CA, CL, CO, DK, ES, FR, GB, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, PA, PT, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2011: Best International Feature Film (nominated)
- Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture 2011: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture (won)
- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2011: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film 2010: Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film (won)

## If you liked this

- *The Official Story* (1985), Fi1m 81: A family’s private doubts lead into public violence, with equally difficult questions. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-official-story.md)
- *The Sweet Hereafter* (1997), Fi1m 88: Patient shifts through time reveal how grief changes a community’s relationships. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-sweet-hereafter.md)
- *Caché* (2005), Fi1m 88: A family mystery that makes looking away from the past increasingly difficult. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/cache.md)
- *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: For equally serious attention to family loyalties, without the reliance on coincidence. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md)
- *Phoenix* (2014), Fi1m 68: A restrained performance makes an improbable story of identity painfully persuasive. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/harry-potter-and-the-order-of-the-phoenix.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/incendies