Dear Reader: Update, Movie Review Intelligence will
continue publishing this website through June (more...)
Search a Movie:
INCENDIESMovie Reviews
French language drama, based on the play "Scorched," about a set of twins in Montreal who are sent by their mother, posthumously, to Lebanon to sort out their tangled family roots. Cast:Maxime Gaudette, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Rémy GirardDirector:Denis VillenueveRelease Date:April 22, 2011DVD Release:September 13, 2011From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:2 hr 10 min
Incendies played in key cities to outstanding reviews. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "This is the film that should have won an Oscar in its foreign-language category and didn't.... What 'Incendies' sets forth so powerfully is the biblical nature of sectarian violence..." • And Emanuel Levy wrote for Cinema 24/7, "...an emotionally powerful film, boasting mythic elements and sweeping visual imagery." More Reviews Below...
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a devastating mystery thriller from Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve that grabs you hard and won't let go.... I'll say no more. 'Incendies' is best opened fresh."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 04/29/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...much more than a thriller... succeeds in demonstrating how senseless and futile it is to hate others because of their religion."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 771 words, 04/29/11
we have an app for when you're out and about
get our iPhone app... or get our mobile web app...
movie review intelligence
NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "The knotted destinies of its characters are like the family secrets in a Shakespearean or classical comedy but turned to a darker purpose."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,049 words, 04/22/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a passion for tragedy courses through it, helping to mitigate its weaker moments and leaving us to contemplate the true legacy of hatred..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 04/22/11
Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...a finely wrought work of care and suspense that is nonetheless ridiculous... Not until the final moments of the film does it all fall into place..."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 506 words, 04/22/11
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Now this is how you adapt a play for the screen.... by burrowing so deeply into the characters' psyches, their discoveries become your own... remarkable..."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 591 words, 04/29/11
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...filled with terrific performances, particularly that of Lubna Azabal as the ferociously proud but ultimately defeated Nawal."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 285 words, 05/13/11
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: OUTSTANDING "...doesn't quite jell, but you'll feel its sting for hours.... Lubna Azabal's performance is beyond my powers of description... This is an extraordinary film."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 336 words, 04/18/11
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...much more than a thriller... succeeds in demonstrating how senseless and futile it is to hate others because of their religion."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 771 words, 04/29/11
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...more in the vein of a Latin American soap opera than Greek tragedy... plays like artistic sleight-of-hand rather than the profoundly tautological revelation it aspires to be."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 04/20/11
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a commanding film of multiple revelations, locations and decades that ultimately becomes a work of transcendent reconciliation.... my pick for the best of 2010..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 01/20/11
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...feels more ingenious than convincing.... The flaw isn't fatal to the poetry of the film, just unpersuasive and convenient."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 684 words, 01/21/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Villeneuve's control over the material, André Turpin's vivid cinematography, and committed performances make this modern-day Greek tragedy feel timeless."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 01/20/11
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a deftly constructed and beautifully realized adaptation of a play by Wajdi Mouawad ('Scorched')... reverberates with the power and passion of Greek tragedy..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 287 words, 04/08/11
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: VERY GOOD(cg) "...occasionally compelling, but also overlong and vexing in the ways it draws out a 'shocking' conclusion that we unravel long before the characters do."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 294 words, 04/02/11
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "If you think of Canadian films as the movie equivalent of cucumber sandwiches and chamomile tea, hold tight.... a pulse-pounding saga..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 173 words, 05/13/11
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Director Denis Villeneuve is a gifted stylist who advances on his earlier features with a confidence that's a lot less show-offy than it could be..."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 723 words, 05/13/11
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the film belongs to Lubna Azabal. As Nawal, the woman forced to make a sort of Middle-Eastern 'Sophie's Choice,' she is never less than compelling..."(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 558 words, 04/22/11
Walter Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "Skillfully made and offering moments of great power... nevertheless overplays its hand, piling tragedy on tragedy until we feel browbeaten with misery."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 191 words, 05/06/11
Ted Fry, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...an intricate, often riveting mystery that unfolds backward and forward in time. The truths revealed by the surprise ending are truly devastating..."(See all of Ted Fry's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 307 words, 05/27/11
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "Director Denis Villeneuve isn't shy about milking the sensational story. But he fails to equal the fireworks of the plot with his technique, which is rather pedestrian..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 235 words, 05/20/11
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...traces a tragedy of Greek proportions to a hopeful beginning and expects it to light our path on a long, dark road. But only a fortified filmgoer will want to go there."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 331 words, 05/20/11
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a gallery of Middle East nightly news atrocities -- a bus massacre, rape, children with guns -- yet it's made intensely personal under the director's steady hand."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 230 words, 06/09/11
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...argues that we don't always know our parents as well as we think we do -- and that sometimes the truth can exceed our wildest imaginations."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 468 words, 03/11/11
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...more in the vein of a Latin American soap opera than Greek tragedy... plays like artistic sleight-of-hand rather than the profoundly tautological revelation it aspires to be."(See all of Mark Holcomb's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 202 words, 04/20/11
Gerald Peary, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Of the five pictures nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, 'Incendies' is the one that should have taken the Oscar.... a thrillingly philosophical art movie..."(See all of Gerald Peary's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 171 words, 05/12/11
Andrew Schenker, Slant: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the film's high drama, like its dexterous handling of narrative and its expert mixture of static framings and skillful tracking shots, seems like so much empty sensation."(See all of Andrew Schenker's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 747 words, 03/23/11
Glenn Sumi, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Villeneuve's control over the material, André Turpin's vivid cinematography, and committed performances make this modern-day Greek tragedy feel timeless."(See all of Glenn Sumi's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 181 words, 01/20/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "This is the film that should have won an Oscar in its foreign-language category and didn't.... What it sets forth so powerfully is the biblical nature of sectarian violence..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 04/22/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "The knotted destinies of its characters are like the family secrets in a Shakespearean or classical comedy but turned to a darker purpose."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,049 words, 04/22/11
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a passion for tragedy courses through it, helping to mitigate its weaker moments and leaving us to contemplate the true legacy of hatred..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 04/22/11
Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "...the story is so compelling and the production so beautifully controlled that we are gripped by the characters' quest right up to the shocking end of the story."(See all of Stephen Farber's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 09/14/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: VERY GOOD "...a passion for tragedy courses through it, helping to mitigate its weaker moments and leaving us to contemplate the true legacy of hatred..."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 662 words, 04/22/11
A.O. Scott, New York Times: EXCELLENT "The knotted destinies of its characters are like the family secrets in a Shakespearean or classical comedy but turned to a darker purpose."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,049 words, 04/22/11
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "This is the film that should have won an Oscar in its foreign-language category and didn't.... What it sets forth so powerfully is the biblical nature of sectarian violence..."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 461 words, 04/22/11
18.4 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Incendies's reviews are separated by an average 18.4 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Incendies (37 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Incendies's reviews cover 51.5% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 15,869 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 429 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Incendies's reviews on average broke 5 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Incendies's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Mobile Web App version 1.2 shows a list of all current movies and review information. You can click through to the cast, director, synopsis, release date and rating on page two, plus individual reviews on page three. The information is updated on a live/real-time basis. You can also search our database of films. Designed for when you're on the move and want the latest info, this app will work on any mobile web browser. From your mobile device -- only from a mobile device -- open our Mobile Web App here...
