Incendies - Wikipedia 화재

Incendies - Wikipedia

줄거리 

캐나다에서 아랍 이민자 인 어머니 Nawal이 사망한 후 Jeanne과 그녀의 쌍둥이 형제 Simon은 어머니의 고용주이자 가족 친구인 프랑스계 캐나다인 공증인 Jean Lebel 을 만납니다 . Nawal의 유언은 Jeanne과 Simon이 이전에 존재를 알지 못했던 신비한 형제와 죽었다고 믿었던 아버지를 추적하지 않는 한 약속을 지키지 않고 적절한 묘비와 관을 거부하는 것을 언급합니다. Nawal은 두 개의 편지를 남겼습니다. 하나는 Jeanne과 Simon의 아버지에게 전달되고 다른 하나는 그들의 형제에게 전달됩니다. Jeanne은 수락합니다. 반면에 Simon은 Nawal과 더 어려운 관계를 가졌고 그녀의 특이한 성격은이 추구에 Jeanne과 함께하기를 꺼립니다.

일련의 회상을 통해 Nawal은 이름 이 알려지지 않은 Levantine 국가의 기독교 아랍 가정 에서 왔으며 Wahab라는 난민 과 사랑에 빠졌고 그 결과 임신했습니다. 그녀의 가족은 그녀의 연인을 살해하고 그녀를 명예 살인 으로 거의 쏠 뻔했지만 할머니는 그녀를 살려주고 아기가 태어난 후 마을을 떠나 가상의 도시 Daresh에서 새로운 삶을 시작하겠다고 약속합니다. 할머니는 아기 발뒤꿈치에 문신을 새겨 고아원으로 보낸다.

Nawal이 Daresh의 대학에 다니는 동안 Nawal이 인권을 이유로 전쟁에 반대하면서 내전과 전쟁 범죄가 발생합니다 . Kfar Khout에 있는 그녀의 아들의 고아원은 그를 이슬람 소년병 으로 개종시킨 이슬람 무장대원 Chamseddine에 의해 파괴되었습니다 . 나왈은 기독교 민족주의자들에 의해 무슬림 난민들로 가득 찬 버스의 학살을 간신히 피한 후 간신히 무슬림 전사들과 합류하고 결국 민족주의 지도자를 쏜다. 그녀는 Kfar Ryat에 수감되어 고문자 Abou Tarek에게 강간을 당하고 결과적으로 쌍둥이를 낳습니다.

어머니의 고국으로 여행을 떠난 잔느는 점차 이 과거를 발견하고 시몬에게 그녀와 함께 하자고 설득한다. Lebel의 도움으로 그들은 형제의 이름이 May의 Nihad임을 알게되고 Chamseddine을 추적합니다. 사이먼은 개인적으로 그와 만나 전쟁에 미친 니하드가 민족주의자들에게 붙잡혀 고문 훈련을 받은 다음 크파르 랴트(Kfar Ryat)로 보내져 아부 타렉(Abou Tarek)이라는 이름을 갖게 되었음을 밝힙니다. 이복 형제와 아버지; 따라서 두 편지는 같은 사람에게 발송됩니다. Nawal과 마찬가지로 Nihad의 상사는 전쟁 후 캐나다에서 그에게 새로운 삶을 제공했습니다. 우연히 Nawal은 캐나다 수영장에서 그를 만났고 문신과 그의 얼굴을 모두 보았습니다. 진실을 알게 된 충격으로 나왈은 뇌졸중을 앓게 되었고, 그로 인해 그녀는 쇠약해졌고 60세에 때 이른 죽음을 맞이했습니다.

쌍둥이는 캐나다에서 Nihad를 찾아 Nawal의 편지를 그에게 전달합니다. 그는 두 개를 모두 엽니다. 첫 번째 편지는 그를 쌍둥이의 아버지이자 강간범이라고 부르며 경멸로 가득 차 있습니다. 두 번째 편지는 그를 쌍둥이 형제라고 부르며 대신 Nawal의 아들로서 사랑받을 자격이 있다는 배려의 말로 쓰여졌습니다.

Nawal은 묘비를 얻습니다. 얼마 후 Nihad가 방문합니다.

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일어한역

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『작열의 영혼』(샤쿠네츠의 영혼, Incendies )은 2010년 캐나다 영화 . 레바논 태생으로 캐나다 퀘벡 주로 이주한 극작가 와지디 무어와드 의 연극 '불타는 끔찍한(원제: Incendies , 전화)'(2003년)의 영화화 . 두니 빌누브 가 각색과 감독을 맡았다.

스토리 

캐나다 퀘벡 . _ 모자 가정에서 자란 아랍계 여대생 잔느 마르완은 어머니 나와르의 급사로 쌍둥이 동생 시몬과 함께 유언서를 받았다 . 그것은 나와르가 죽음의 바닥에서 구술한 문장으로 관에 넣지 않고 알몸으로 매장해 묘비도 세우지 말라고 기록되어 있었다. 묘비를 세우고 싶으면, 동봉한 2통의 편지를 아버지와 형에게 ​​전달하라고 지시되는 쌍둥이. 하지만 잔느들은 아버지의 이름을 모르고 형이 있다는 것도 듣지 않았다. 어머니의 의사에 따라 아버지를 찾기 위해 중동 으로 여행하는 쟌느. 동생 시몬은 변신자로 이해하기 어려운 성격이었던 어머니에게 반발해 캐나다에서 움직이지 않았다.

35년 전 중동에서는 기독교인과 이슬람교도가 격렬하게 대립하고 있었다. 젊은 나와르가 사는 기독교인 마을 근처에는 이웃 나라를 쫓긴 무슬림 난민 캠프가 있었다. 난민의 무슬림 청년과 사랑하고 임신하는 나발. 나와르의 형제는 이 사랑을 일족의 수치로 여겨 청년을 사살하고 나와르도 죽이려고 했다. 할머니에게 생명을 구원받고 마을의 삼촌의 집에서 대학에 다니도록 지시되는 나와르. 태어난 아들은 태어나자마자 고아원에 맡겨졌고 니하드라고 불렸다.

몇 년 후, 나와르의 나라는 기독교인과 무슬림 사이에서 내전 상태에 빠졌다. 고아원이 있는 남부의 전투가 치열하다는 것을 알고 혼자 남부로 향하는 나발. 하지만 고아원은 타버렸고 아들의 소식을 알 수 없었다. 무슬림 여자들까지 학살하는 기독교 군인들을 격렬하게 미워한 나발은 무슬림 쪽에 대해 기독교인 정부 요인에 접근하여 사살했다.

어머니의 고향 마을을 찾는 쟌느. 하지만 마을의 여자들은 나와르를 일족의 수치라고 부르고, 쟌느를 쫓아냈다. 어머니가 15년간도 감옥에 수감되고 있던 것을 아는 쟌느. 나와르는 고문을 받고도 굴하지 않고, 언제나 노래하고 있었기 때문에 '노래하는 여자'라고 불리며, 무슬림들에게는 존경받는 존재였다.

20년 전 세뇌되지 않는 강정한 나발을 아프게 하기 위해 굉장한 고문인 압탈렉이 감옥에 파견됐다. 아부 타렉에게 강간당하고, 옥중에서 아이를 낳고 나서 석방되는 나와르. 잔느와 시몬은 그때 태어난 아이였던 것이다. 동생 시몬도 중동으로 날아가 무슬림 무장 세력과 접촉했다. 당시를 아는 노인으로부터 형의 소식을 듣는 시몬. 형의 니하드는 고아원에서 납치되어 이슬람 전사로 성인했지만, 그 후 기독교인에게 잡혀 세뇌되어 고문인 압탈렉이 되었다고 한다.

압 타렉은 나중에 캐나다로 건너가 일반인으로서 생활하고 있었다. 나와르는 아브 타렉을 보았고, 그가 아들임을 알았기 때문에 충격으로 급격히 컨디션을 무너뜨리고 죽은 것이었다. 어머니가 죽을 때의 유언대로, 아브 타렉에게 2통의 편지를 건네주고, 곧바로 떠나는 잔느와 시몬. 일통의 편지에는 쌍둥이가 강간으로 태어난 그의 아이인 것이 기록되어 ‘아들 헤’라고 주소지어진 편지에는 어머니로서 아들을 사랑하는 나와르의 심정이 적혀 있었다.

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Incendies

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

A substantive Canadian film about a will read in Montreal, trips to the Middle East to confront family secrets, and a glimpse of the dehumanization of war.

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/20876/incendies

Adult twins Jeanne (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) arrive at the office of Jean Lebel (Remy Girard), a notary in Montreal, Canada. He has been designated to read the will of their mother, who had been his secretary, Nawal Marwan (Lubna Azabal). Her last wishes are quite bizarre. She wants them to deliver two sealed letters: one to the father they thought was dead and the other to a brother they didn't know they had. In addition, Nawal wants to be buried "naked, no prayers, face down, away from the world."

Jeanne realizes that many mysteries have gathered behind these last requests, which could explain her mother's silence in the final weeks before her death. Although she immediately decides to go the Middle East order to untangle the family secrets, her brother, who found his mother's craziness to be an embarrassment, decides not to accompany her.

Through flashbacks, we learn that Nawal grew up in a Christian family but fell in love with a Muslim. Her enraged brothers kill him and scorn their sister for bringing shame upon the family. Her grandmother protects her from her avenging siblings and delivers Nawal's baby. He is put in an orphanage, and she flees the country.

Through another flashback, we see Nawal trying to locate her son years later. In the most terrifying scene of the film, members of a Christian militia slaughter a bus load of Muslims; Nawal escapes after identifying herself as a Christian. Her rage is so great that she switches allegiance to the Muslim faction and assassinates the Christian leader. Nawal is sentenced to 15 years in prison and endures torture and rape. Her survival strategy involves singing.

Jeanne visits her mother's village and discovers that the women there have no knowledge of her father but have nothing but contempt for her mother who betrayed the community. In support of Jeanne, both Simon and Jean join her in some crucial meetings with a midwife and the Muslim who engineered Nawal's actions as an assassin.

Incendies is directed by Denis Villeneuve who claims that the title refers to an inferno that leaves "something totally destroyed, totally transformed . . . destruction that you cannot change afterwards." This combination family drama, political thriller, and survival saga is based on a play by Lebanon-born writer Wajdi Mouawad. Incendies does convey the dehumanization of civil war, the horror of genocide, and the scourge of unbridled violence that takes the lives of innocents. The film was Canada's submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards.

Lubna Azabal gives an incredibly intense performance as Nawal, a resilient woman whose life is smeared with so much blood that she turns to anger as a way out. Melissa Desormeauz-Poulin puts in a stellar performance as her daughter Jeanne who wants to connect with her mother by learning all there is to know about her.

Special features on the two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo include a commentary with director Denis Villeneuve and "Remembering the Ashes: Incendies Through Their Eyes."

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Christian and Muslim bullets and blood

Tim Kroenert 21 April 2011

3 Comments        

Incendies (MA). Director: Denis Villeneuve. Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard . 130 minutes

https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/christian-and-muslim-bullets-and-blood

This Quebecois Oscar nominee (best foreign language film) is as intricately plotted as a mystery novel, keeps a critical eye on history and the causes and consequences of conflict, and possesses the mythical weight of a Tolkienesque quest story.

In this case, it is a quest for truth and understanding: adult twins Jeanne (Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Gaudette) have been charged with gathering the strands of their dead mother Nawal's (Azabal) mysterious life. 

(Continues below)

Nuwal's will is heavy with penitent symbolism. She is to be buried in an unmarked grave, naked, face-down, her back to the world. The will instructs the twins to return to her homeland in the Middle East and deliver two envelopes: one to their father, the other to their brother. Only once this task has been fulfilled will she be worthy of an honourable burial.

Jeanne and Simon are perplexed: as far as they know, their father is dead, and they have no brother. They are infuriated by what they see as a final prank by an eccentric and emotionally distant mother. But Jeanne is coaxed by notary and family friend Jean (Girard) into accepting the mission.

Incendies discloses two accounts of history. One is pieced together by Jeanne and, later, Simon, as they visit pertinent locations from Nawal's life, rubbing at the grime on the pane of time and peering through the clean spots at the partially revealed picture beneath.

The other unfolds in a series of chronological flashbacks containing Nawal's tragic and harrowing biography, which is marred by the bullets and the blood of interreligious conflict. The roots both of her own personal formation and of Jeanne and Simon's origins lie among the ruins of this fraught history.

The two accounts seem not always to agree. But they are of course different perspectives on the same story. Ultimately they elucidate each other. Incendies is a gripping, intricate epic, whose themes are amplified by individually powerful dramatic sequences:

Residents of a Christian orphanage have their heads shaved by Muslim militants. The camera zooms in on one small boy, who stares into it with an expression of fierce defiance. The head-shaver forcibly tilts the boy's skull forward, but the gesture only intensifies his stare, now directed from beneath a lowered brow. 'Don't forget about me', the stare says, and it's both a clue for the audience and a threat to any who oppress him.

Jeanne meets with women from her mother's village. The natural French-speaker communicates in imperfect English via a local girl who translates into their Middle Eastern dialect. The women's disdain for Nawal has fermented over time but the reasons for it are transmitted only stiltedly to Jeanne across the gaps in language and culture. Tabooed truth is hard to come by, but it can be harder still to bear once it is known.

Nawal, disgraced and exiled from her Christian village for an affair with a Muslim man, conceals her crucifix and hitches a ride on a bus laden with Muslims. Shortly, the bus is halted by a squadron of bloodthirsty Christian militants. What ensues is a formative moment for Nawal, and, for the audience, one of Incendies' most powerful sequences. But it merely foreshadows greater horrors that lie in wait.

It seems every moment is imbued with a mystical core and mythical embellishments ('The Woman Who Sings' and 'Nihad Of May' are two mythical figures who emerge as key players in the mystery). So much so that even the film's overly contrived resolution contains a sense of predestination. 

Tim KroenertTim Kroenert is Assistant Editor of Eureka Street. He is a contributor to Kidzone, Inside Film and The Big Issue, and his articles and reviews have appeared in Melbourne's The Age and Brisbane's Courier-Mail. Follow Tim on Twitter

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LET ME EXPLAIN WHY INCENDIES IS THE INTENSE MIND JOB MOVIE YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

 Taylor Holmes cinema June 16, 2018

Let Me Explain Why Incendies is the Intense Mind Job Movie You are Looking For - or how sometimes we all need to be completely crushed by a story. IMDB

Screenplay

Acting

Characters

Action

Editing

Reader Rating17 Votes

4.9

Oh. Holy. Night. I just finished the movie Incendies – thanks Imraz for the tip, I seriously owe you one now – and I’m still reeling. You guys regularly recommend movies that just dash my head against the rocks and blow my mind. But this is on a whole ‘nother level. Imraz, the thing that tipped me to watch Incendies was one name: Denis Villeneuve. No? Come on guys! I’ve been working with you and working with you! Denis is the new Shane Carruth. He’s the new Chris Nolan. When his name is on a movie poster just go. Pee Wee Herman is in the film? Doesn’t matter. Trust me. It’s going to be amazing.

Denis Villeneuve, he’s nobody, I mean, he just directed Dune: Part 1, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario, Enemy, and now Incendies. Literally, if you haven’t seen any of these movies you basically get a free promise from me that you’ll love them all. That’s FIVE movies with a satisfaction guarantee. When was the last time you were guaranteed anything? Right. 5 fantastic movies brought to you by the master. If you haven’t seen Incendies yet, you can watch it right here:

What is Incendies about? Wow. How do you sum up a mind job of this level of epicness? How. Well, the movie starts with a mother passing away. And in the will, their mother has stated that they are to find their father, whom they assumed was dead, and also find their brother, which, they didn’t know existed. And when they do that? Then they will be given a letter for themselves. And then they’ll be able to mark her grave. But, trust me, this little job, is going to be a LOT harder than they realized. And, did I mention that I’m still reeling? Yeah, I’m still reeling. What a hardcore and intense mindjob of such epic proportions. So so good. But don’t go in expecting a giddy happy ride. Because that isn’t going to be happening here. Thank you very much.

If you must, feel free to check out this trailer. But if I were you? I’d skip the trailer and head straight out and watch it. (You can find it right here on Amazon. It comes and goes on Prime. But even if you have to pay 3 bucks? Watch it.)

Trust me. That trailer doesn’t do this movie justice. Just got watch it. I literally need to go walk outside. Go stand in the sun. Breathe in. Breathe out. I’m still not right in the head after this amazing movie. I remember thinking at one point, maybe 20 minutes in, “This movie is way way too intense too early on. It literally cannot sustain this level of intensity.” Oh, but Denis? You just took that intensity knob, and just kept cranking it up until you snapped the knob clear off the dashboard. How? And he even considered doing this movie as a silent movie! hahahah. I kid you not. Anyway… let’s unpack this movie from beginning to end… and talk this thing through. Because wow.

INCENDIES COMPLETELY UNPACKED AND EXPLAINED

The reason, I am certain, that Imraz mentioned this movie for THiNC. to discuss is obvious. Before we even get to the ending, this movie is confusing. There are numerous timelines, some simultaneous, some years apart, some with different people, others the same – with aging and other effects to affect their features. Oh and then because of the ending. (But we’ll unpack that way way down down this page. For now, we have tons of other work to do first.) And usually I find that instead of generally recapping the overall movie as it comes to us, with confusing storylines like this one, it might be better to walk through the movie’s events in chronological order. (Or as best as I can figure it out anyway! hahah.) Because the movie actually starts in the middle, walks forward, then jumps way back to the beginning, and then leaps back forward towards the end, and back and forth, until the stunning reveal. Right? Well, for some of us, that is way way to difficult to track. So I’m going to give a chronological exposition a go. Please help me if you see something messed up or out of order. (But do it kindly! hahahah.) But seriously, reading this outline like this?? Oh man, it will ruin this movie. If you haven’t seen it, turn back now!!

INCENDIES OUTLINE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

The story opens with a Christian Arab family in an unnamed Middle Eastern country

Nawal Marwan falls in love with a refugee and gets pregnant

While trying to flee, Nawal’s family murders the refugee but the grandmother saves Nawal

The baby is born, and is tattooed on his heel with three dots and is taken to an orphanage

Nawal goes to an uncle’s home in Daresh, works at a newspaper and begins getting an education

Civil war breaks out as Christian nationalists begin attacking Muslims and refugees

Nawal’s son (Nihad of May) is rescued from his orphanage in Kfar Khout before his orphanage is destroyed

The rescuer is the Muslim warlord Wallat Chamseddine, who turns him into an Islamic child soldier

Vowing revenge, Nawal joins the Muslim fighters and assassinates a Christian Nationalist leader

Nihad becomes a military war machine and a wicked assassin

Imprisoned in Kfar Ryat she is repeatedly tortured

Eventually Nihad is captured, flips, and is turned into a torture expert… in Abou Tareq

Nihad takes the name of Abou Tareq, and repeatedly tortures and rapes The Woman Who Sings

Nawal gives birth to twins, but instead of throwing them in the river, the nurse cares for them

Nawal is released, and Wallat Chamseddine helps her take her twins to Canada to start over

Years later, at a pool, Nawal notices the tatoo given to Nihad

When she walks up to him, she realizes Nihad was Abou Tareq and has a stroke

She asks her employer, Notaire Jean Lebel, to handle her will and then dies

Jeanne and Simon are given letters from Lebel, to give to their supposed dead father and non-existent brother

Jeanne goes looking and uncovers her home, and also her prison

She asks Simon to come and both Simon and Libel come out to assist

They learn their brother’s name is Nihad and they eventually track down Chamseddine

Chamseddine revealed that Nihad was captured by nationalists and took the name Abou Tareq

This then means that Nihad/Abou is both their half brother and their father

Jeanne and Simon find Nihad in Canada and deliver both letters to him

Jeanne and Simon place a headstone at their mother’s grave

The final shot is Nihad visiting his mother’s grave.

That is one jacked up story line. And I’m literally not certain that Shakespeare hasn’t returned from the dead to create this amazing script.

INCENDIES THE HISTORICAL CONNECTION

Denis went way out of his way to abstract the movie out from the historical context. The country that the movie was set was a fictional middle east country. The town names? All made up. The prison? Fictional.  But, Villeneuve’s script was based on a play with the same name, as I mentioned before. This play was written by Wajdi Mouawad, and that story was derived from experiences of Souha Béchara. Souha was a Lebanese activist that was similarly tortured while in prison after a failed assassination attempt of a general backed by Israel. The detention center in Souha’s case was named Khiam Detention Center, and her time in prison included six years in solitary, and only one meal a day. If you are intrigued by her story, she wrote two books about her time in Khiam called “Resistance: My Life for Lebanon” and “I Dream of a Cell of Cherries”.

BUT WHAT IS THIS INCENDIES THING ALL ABOUT?

Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies is based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad of the same name. And this tangled tumult of a story is not so much a story based in reality, but more closely walks in line with a Shakespearian tragedy. Replete with shocking revelations, murders, double-crosses, and allegiance shifts, the movie is here to hammer home one message, and that message is clearly communicated in the form of letters from their matriarch long after she is dead and gone.

In Nawal Marwan’s message to the father: “You’ll become silent, because everyone is silent before the truth.”

And in Nawal’s message to the brother: “Your story begins with a promise, to break the chains of anger… to wrap you, and console you, and sing a lullaby over you… nothing is more important than being together.”

And in Nawal’s message to the twins, she wondered if their story began with their birth, because if so, it began with unimaginable horrors and terror. But if it began with their brother’s story it began in love. Nawal mainly wanted to convey just how much she loved them, in spite of the circumstances of their birth.

So ultimately, Nawal wanted to find her son, her husband, her abuser, and to reconcile. But if you see Nawal as a picture of perfection and grace you are missing it. Yes, Nawal was forgiving. But she definitely also needed forgiveness. I mean, she did, after all, murder the head of the Christian rebel groups. She was just as much in need of forgiveness and reconciliation as the rest of them. She was dying to be loved, like the rest of her family.

But look at her story. She has her refugee soul mate murdered in front of her eyes. She is almost killed as well by her family. She gives up her son and spends her entire life searching to find him. She murders the leader of the Christian rebellion. And she is terrorized in prison for fifteen years during which time she is raped and tortured repeatedly… ultimately by her son. And she gives birth to two children, that are almost drowned in the river. She’s reunited with them and moves to Canada. In a coincidence that the gods must have coordinated, she stumbles upon her son at a pool. And then falls into a coma and dies. If that isn’t the most tragic story ever, I don’t know what is.

And yet she is desperate to find her family. To find home. To find love.

What did you think of the film? Are tragedies your thing? Personally? I adore them. Not a 100% huge fan of Shakespeare’s comedies. But his tragedies? They definitely turn my crank. And this would have made an amazing play by the bard. I actually would love to see Incendies in play form. I bet it is absolutely heartbreaking. Anyway, what did you think of the film?

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Taste of Cinema – Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists

 

7 Reasons Why “Incendies” Is Denis Villeneuve’s Overlooked Masterpiece

Posted on December 3, 2017by Hrvoje Galić

Incendies (2010)

Denis Villeneuve’s movie “Incendies” was his cinematic breakthrough and the last film in French that he made; it earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It is based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, a Lebanese-Canadian who, among other projects, produced a trilogy of Greek plays by Sophocles.

“Incendies” is a journey and a search for identity that is redeveloped through experiencing trauma, suffering and a recollection of the past. The narrative is mainly concerned with the search for heritage, which is radically transformed and set in an alien (for the twins) environment pointing to the alienation of identity. It is fundamentally an attempt at reconciliation and forgiveness, ending the brutality brought upon by war and violence.

The film is partly set during the Lebanese Civil War, which lasted from 1975 to 1990, claiming 120,000 lives. Although this is the setting in which the events occur and their consequences are presented, Villeneuve said the movie is essentially not about war, but about family. It deals with its confrontation with the past which needs to be rediscovered, endured and, in the end, reconciled with.

The brilliance of Villeneuve’s adaptation is in its sincere approach which is humble but far-reaching, since it deals with the fundamental questions about nature of existence and coexistence of human beings in a violent environment, and the consequences of one’s actions for the generations to come.

“Incendies” is a film that is also a plea for communion, peace and forgiveness among human beings. A cross can be seen both in the soldiers and in close-ups on other occasions. This shows the twofold nature of the human condition; ideas can be used to promote both peace and violence, and Villeneuve presents us with a horrendous story that, nevertheless, opens up a possibility for living together peacefully and in harmony.

 

1. The opening scene

The film opens with an extreme long shot of a desolate valley and a palm tree, giving us a moment of leisure and calmness to prepare us for what we are about to experience. We see that the camera is shooting through the window and turning to the soldiers shaving the heads of children while Radiohead’s “You And Whose Army?” is playing.

The melancholic music amplifies the scene’s sadness, since children are filmed as they are being transformed into killing machines. The faces of children are shown; they are bloodied and their gazes seem empty, and one of them is holding a gun. The soldier’s boots are shown in a close-up, indicating brutality and harshness. The act of shaving heads symbolizes the erasure of identity, and this is particularly important since the focus is on the young Nihad, which is recognizable by the ink marks shown on his foot.

Throughout his life, he changes his elusive identity. Later in the film, the military leader Chamseddine, who trained him, says that he had become a killing machine crazed by war. This is anticipated in his angry gaze toward the audience. The close-up of Nihad’s tattoo tells us something about his identity we cannot yet capture, but it gives us a hint that the events that are about to happen are in a way predetermined. It is a powerful and beautifully shot scene, indicating the main themes which are dealt with in the movie.

 

2. Connection between landscapes and characters’ feelings

Villeneuve said in an interview: “It was important that there was a relationship between the landscapes and the inner feelings of the characters walking through them. I tried never to fall into the trap of exoticism.” This particular connection is vivid throughout the movie, most importantly in the scenes set in the Middle East, where desolation, destructed cities, and an orphanage which Nawal sees destroyed all amplify the feelings of the protagonist.

The destruction of material objects shows the condition of the human psyche confronted with violence which may seem never-ending. When the twins come to the Middle East, the landscapes demonstrate their alienation from the environment – they simply do not belong there.

When Jeanne comes to the Middle East, the setting is peaceful; the birds are singing and the trees surrounding them are in accordance with her peace of mind, which is still not disturbed by evil. When she finds out her mother was raped in prison, the wind is howling and we can feel her disturbance mirrored in the changed character of the landscape.

When the horrendous truth about the parentage of twins is discovered, we see Jeanne in a hallway where there is little room, indicating that she feels trapped. While Chamseddine is telling them who their father is, at first we can see the endless sand landscapes and dark woods covered in snow, both telling us about the vastness of feelings and confusion that the twins are going through. Nevertheless, the peaceful music is playing, indicating that they have found peace at last.

 

3. Search for heritage

After the twins receive their mother’s will, they are shocked, and the search for their heritage begins, but it also transforms into the revelation of their identity. The reactions of the twins are interesting since Simon rejects the possibility of redefining himself and his identity, while Jeanne, although disturbed, seeks to find the truth about herself and her family.

As Martin Heidegger points out, our heritage is constitutive to our being. In his “Being and Time,” he writes that man is essentially his own past, and that his manner of existing implies the interpretation of himself, and of that very past that at times affects him. In other words, the twins’ search for the truth about their father and brother and their own past is essentially the search for who they are.

Their interpretation of themselves profoundly changes when they find out that they have a brother and a father who are alive. When this truth is brought to light, their identity needs to be reshaped and rebuilt. The movie may be compared to a pilgrimage of a sort, a quest for revelation and the definition of one’s true self. This revelation is followed by suffering and trauma; it is a dangerous journey into the unknown where the very conception of one’s self is put into question, and is damaged and longs to be healed.

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