Incendies 2010, Incendies film analysis, Denis Villeneuve, Lubna Azabal, Lebanese civil war film, best foreign language films, tragic cinema, Wajdi Mouawad.
During her imprisonment, Nawal is brought a prisoner to torture. She is ordered to rape him with a metal bar. She refuses, but as the prison fights break down, she is forced to witness the atrocities. The prisoner she was supposed to mutilate? It is her son, Nihad—the man with the scar. He does not know her. She recognizes him by his heel. In her grief, she carves four gashes into his back with a razor to mark him. Incendies -2010-2010
The recurring motif of “fire” is literal and metaphorical. Nawal sets fires to escape. The civil war is a fire consuming a nation. The incinerating power of truth burns through all lies. By the end, every character is ash. And yet, there is a strange, terrible hope in the final image of the swimmer—the father, Abou Tarek, stripped of his power, stepping into a swimming pool. Water extinguishes fire. But is it enough? Upon release at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, Incendies won the Golden Lion for Best Film (the top prize). It went on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011, losing to In a Better World (Denmark)—a decision many critics still lament. She refuses, but as the prison fights break
If you have not seen the film, stop reading. The revelation is the film’s entire reason for being. He does not know her