Incendies (***3/4)

Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, which I saw the night before this, includes William Faulkner’s famous quote, “The past is never dead; it isn’t even past.” Probably that’s why it came to mind while watching this harrowing mystery, which proves the point. It also proves that it’s not only science-fiction films and action-thrillers that deliver mind-blowing conclusions. (Yes, the one here involves a big coincidence, but it’s a coincidence that mostly explains subsequent events rather than too-conveniently wrapping up a messy plot.) What starts out as a slow-paced drama about French Canadian twins asked to carry out their late mother’s last wish—find their lost father and brother—becomes increasingly compelling. For me the point at which I started becoming involved was when, in flashback, the mother (the very fine Lubna Azabal) finds herself facing a Christian death squad in Lebanon’s civil war of the 1970s. Thinking quickly, she not only shows them her cross to prove she’s not a Muslim, but also tells them that a young Muslim girl is her daughter, hoping to save the child.

Alternating with the mother’s story, her daughter (but not her twin brother, less inclined to carry out the will of a mother he somewhat resents) travels from Montréal to Lebanon and slowly uncovers her mother’s unfortunate past. Director Denis Villeneuve, who’s adapted the play by Lebanese Canadian Wajdi Mouawad, keeps the actual violence off-screen while showing its effects. The flashbacks and the modern scenes move toward the same conclusion, but the contrast couldn’t be greater. It’s not only that the twins live in a world of cell phones and air-conditioned vehicles, but that they live in a world where they have the luxury of being able to forget the past.

This was nominated for the foreign-language Oscar. It’s nearly a toss-up whether this or the winner, In a Better World, is better. But the twist at the end of this one, and Villeneuve’s natural-seeming presentation of a tricky structure, gives this the edge.

IMDB link

viewed at Ritz Bourse and reviewed 6/23/11

The Spiderwick Chronicles (***)

This fantasy/family film crams a five-volume series of novels into an hour and a half movie that’s coherent and satisfying. Twin nine-year-old brothers and their teen sister have moved into a remote family estate with their mother (Mary-Louise Parker). English Freddie Highmore, employing two perfect American accents, plays both the mischievous Jared, who first discovers the hidden creatures in and around the house, and the placid, brainy Simon.

The story concerns these creatures, who range from tiny fairies to a giant griffin, but most concerns the efforts of the evil ogre and his assisting goblins to acquire a book that is in the house. Woven through this is Jared’s resentment at his mother for moving away from his old home and his father. There isn’t time for these themes to be explored in depth, or even to learn much about all of the different creatures that are introduced. It’s too small of a film to seem like a classic of the chidren’s fantasy. I didn’t feel pulled into another world, as with Wizard of Oz, or Chronicles of Narnia. But I did stay interested despite some familiar elements, and the movie will likely please kids old enough not to be scared of the gruesome, shape-shifting villain.

IMDB link

viewed and reviewed 2/16/08