Incendies 4K

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay: Denis Villeneuve, Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne
Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard
Country: Canada
Running Time: 130 minutes
Year: 2010

101 Films presents acclaimed drama Incendies (2010), the breakthrough film from director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Dune), released on 4K UHD for the first time. Before he emerged as one of Hollywood’s biggest names, Villeneuve adapted this harrowing story of Canadian twins who travel to an unnamed country in the Middle East with a history of religious conflict. Villeneuve’s powerful and heartbreaking tale is presented here from a new 4K master, supervised and approved by the director himself.

Blimey. I mean, I’ve seen Incendies before, but still.

The labyrinthine plot, while juxtaposing past and present, could be just at home in the hands of South Korean auteur Park Chan Wook; though where he would sensationalise the astonishing twists, Denis Villeneuve guides you through to emphasise the emotional core. Make no mistake, he’s having just as much fun messing with our heads as the director of OldBoy. He just also wants us to understand a message that means more than you might imagine. Incendies finds beauty within horror, a treatise in faith, and a testament to all people caught up in war.

Tough, bleak, but driven by nuanced, emotional performances. Villeneuve always works well with his female actors. Here he has the stern and proud Lubna Azabal as Nawal, and Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin as Jeanne, her daughter. They are both incredible; Azabal fleshes out a character who is an avatar for a country in the way Joan of Arc represented France. But in Azabal’s hands, we truly understand Nawal as “The Woman Who Sings”.

Equally, Désormeaux-Poulin’s role might have been underdeveloped as the narrative’s investigator to whom little happens. Especially as the plot really stretches credibility as to why her mother’s will is being indulged this far. Again, Mélissa is brilliant at making her real. Maxim Gaudette does well to make himself heard between these two formidable women, but the script gives him room to do just that.

You’ll either be mesmerised or have found the whole affair preposterous. Your mileage may vary, but the key to it working at all is Villeneuve’s confident grasp of the material (based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad). Incendies was his breakout film which led directly to the excellent Prisoners and Sicario. The latter too was an accomplished exercise in nihilism, equally as cynical as Incendies, but this film has a powerful coda of hope and forgiveness that might floor you. If you can look past the contrived narrative shenanigans of course. The metaphor we are left with is of vital importance; how do we keep our dignity, our humanity, in the face of perpetual violence?

FILM

VIDEO

André Turpin’s cinematography is a beautiful muted palette. Pastel colours are perfectly balanced, with an aesthetic we would see again in Sicario at least. The superb director-approved 4K transfer is bright and lively (another trick of Villeneuve’s is that most of the darkness in the story takes place in sunshine). Detail and contrast rarely contradicting one another.

AUDIO

Music as a score is used sparingly, and a couple of Radiohead tracks stand out. It’s not an action film, though it has brief, powerful moments of violence, and just as many of contemplation. The soundtrack handles both with aplomb. Dialogue is maybe a little too punchy at times in the centre channel, but it’s always loud and clear.

EXTRA FEATURES

This is a generous set from 101. The extra material could have benefited from more voices than just the director’s. Still, it does demonstrate why Villeneuve is one of the finest directors working today. Incendies is an extraordinary film precisely because of his tenacity.

• Remembering The Ashes: Incendies Through Their Eyes
• Commentary with Denis Villeneuve
• Interview with Denis Villeneuve
• Q&A with director Denis Villeneuve
• Limited edition booklet includes: ‘The Empathy and Alchemy of Denis Villeneuve’ by Rich Johnson, ‘Symphony for the Devil: Finding the Darkness of Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies’ by James Mottram and printed Q&A with director Denis Villeneuve from Venice 2010

DISC