Incendies
Twins journey to the Middle East to discover their family history and fulfill their mother's last wishes.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve · Drama · Mystery · War · 131 min · 2011
Trailer
Director
Denis Villeneuve
Studio
micro_scope{{Cite news / title=Les coulisses d'Incendies : plonger dans le décor / last=Chabot / first=Simon / date=27 June 2009 / access-date=7 August 2016 / work=La Presse / archive-date=6 October 2016 / url-status=live
Release
22 Apr 2011
Runtime
131 min
Genres
Drama, Mystery, War
Full Plot
A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play, Incendies tells the powerful and moving tale of two young adults' voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love.
Cast & Characters
Nawal Marwan
Lubna Azabal
Jeanne "Janaan" Marwan
Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin
Simon "Sarwan" Marwan
Maxim Gaudette
Jean Lebel
Rémy Girard
Abou Tarek/Nihad "Nihad de Mai" Harmanni
Abdelghafour Elaaziz
Notary Maddad
Allen Altman
Chamseddine
Mohamed Majd
Fahim
Nabil Sawalha
Maika
Baya Belal
Nicolas
Bader Alami
Chamseddine's guard
Karim Babin
Did You Know?
Made on an estimated budget of $6.8M, Incendies has grossed $6.8M worldwide — about 1.0x its budget.
Source: TMDb API · verified 2026-08-02
Denis Villeneuve has directed 5 films in our catalog, including Dune: Part Three, Dune: Part Two.
Source: theIReview.com catalog · verified 2026-08-02
Did You Know Denis Villeneuve adapted Wajdi Mouawad's play after seeing it performed in Montreal in 2004.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
The story is based on events during the Lebanese Civil War, but the filmmakers made the location ambiguous.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Denis Villeneuve was drawn to Incendies as a modern story with Greek tragedy elements despite being unfamiliar with Arab culture.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Villeneuve spent five years working on the screenplay while directing two films in between.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Critical Assessment
Incendies holds 8.3/10 on IMDb (243,446 votes), 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 80/100 on Metacritic.
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of August 11, 2026
Where to Watch
United States
United Kingdom
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDb. Availability changes often — confirm on the provider before watching.
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on aggregated scores (8.3/10 on IMDb (243,446 votes), 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 80/100 on Metacritic), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Incendies's Rotten Tomatoes score?+
Incendies holds a 91% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes.
What is Incendies's IMDb rating?+
Incendies has a 8.3/10 rating on IMDb from 243,446 votes.
What is Incendies's Metacritic score?+
Incendies has a Metascore of 80/100 on Metacritic.
Is Incendies good? What are critics saying?+
Incendies holds 8.3/10 on IMDb (243,446 votes), 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 80/100 on Metacritic.
How long is Incendies?+
Incendies has a runtime of 131 min.
Who directed Incendies?+
Incendies was directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Where can I watch Incendies?+
Incendies is available to stream, rent, or buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Rakuten TV, Sky Store.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The public reaction to "Incendies" appears to be overwhelmingly positive. Reviewers praise the film's storytelling, performances, and balance of drama and tension. The text suggests that some viewers were initially drawn in by the movie's slow-burning pace and emotional manipulation, but ultimately found it boring and confusing at times.
Viewer Reviews (TMDb)
Great movie for a great and tough story. Good photography and cut, the story is well developed and the performances are superb. Also, it doesn't fail on being over dramatic. Just the perfect balance. A must to be seen.
Andres Gomez · 10/10_Incendies_ crawls under your skin and stays there. Villeneuve sets the mood with silence, shadow, and slow-burn tension, building a mystery with the weight of a Greek tragedy. Some parts drag, but they add gravity to the gut-punch revelations. It’s emotionally manipulative in th…
griggs79 · 8/10**The rating on this movie is too high.. even 4 is probably too high.** Firstly, this is a very boring movie, long, drawn out, and rather confusing with its time jumps. Secondly, what the kids do is completely pointless because the mother already knew the letters could be deliver…
TkA · 4/10
From the trailer's comments
Finished it 15 minutes ago…. I AM STILL IN SHOCK.
@renaissance1333 · 1026 likesJust watched this masterpiece, and I have this to say for those who haven't seen it. Find a good afternoon to watch it and save some time to process what happened. This isn't one of those movies you will sleep well afterward.
@jimraynor4383 · 394 likesThis movie is so strong, filled with twists and emotional. I am filled with emotion long after the movie is over. The anger versus the love.
@stevejulian · 847 likesDennies deserves to win the Oscar soon he is one of the best of our generation.
@Gambitheart · 209 likesIf you are contemplating whether or not to watch this movie, watch it
@S133pyy · 644 likesAs an Arab I'm speechless this movie is amazing , scary , painful but true The plot is amazing poor Nawal
@yaminakoubai7892 · 163 likesI usually don't believe the comments because 9 out of 10 times people get amazed with stupid movies and all the comments here are the same as some garbage movies I've seen because of the comments 😂 BUT MAN I DID NOT EXPECT THIS MOVIE TO BE THIS GOOD!! It left me speechless and I…
@gigaholic3100 · 84 likesWow I just watched this movie, thx to comments below! WOW! One of the best movies I have ever seen. What an ending! BRAVO!
@x13xmonkey · 242 likes
