Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

A staggering political drama that could put you in mind of the intimate sweep of Bernardo Bertolucci, Incendies feels like a mighty movie in our midst.

Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern

Denis Villeneuve's screen adaptation of a play by the Lebanese-Canadian playwright Wajdi Mouawad tells a story-masterfully-of courage, cruelty, family mysteries and a chain of anger that can only be broken by love.

NPR by Bob Mondello

The storytelling in Incendies strikes me as primal the way Greek tragedy is primal. Shattering. Cathartic. It is a breathtaking film.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

Incendies is no mere riff on a Greek mainstay. It is its own entity, delicate and fierce. Already I've risked making it sound like homework. It's not; it's an enthralling drama of survival.

Washington Post by Michael O'Sullivan

It knocks you off your feet and leaves you shaken.

Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall

Incendies is a gallery of nightly news atrocities - a bus massacre, rape, children with guns - yet it's made intensely personal under the director's steady hand.

The Telegraph by David Gritten

Incendies is no one’s idea of a joyful ride, but it’s a remarkable work, and its complex story etches itself on the memory.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

The movie is a bumpy road of twists that leads to a revelation that has the shock and force of Greek tragedy.

The Hollywood Reporter by Stephen Farber

Although the film runs more than two hours, 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.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein

The movie doesn't quite jell, but you'll feel its sting for hours.

Rolling Stone by Peter Travers

A devastating mystery thriller from Quebec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve that grabs you hard and won't let go.

IndieWire by Eric Kohn

The climax is a little too clever and far-fetched-an unnecessarily neat finale for a movie that works fine when dealing in broad strokes, some of which are nothing short of masterful.

Variety by Peter Debruge

Incendies vaults Denis Villeneuve to the status of serious director.

Boxoffice Magazine by Ed Schied

Azabal is superb, conveying Nawal's fiery presence, determination and mounting bitterness. The impressive cast includes non-professionals from Jordan, where Incendies was filmed.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

While the film will likely stick with viewers, it's ultimately a tossup what they'll remember most: the stunning buildup, or the massive letdown.

Village Voice by Mark Holcomb

Nawal's travails are more in the vein of a Latin American soap opera than Greek tragedy, and Jeanne and Simon's climactic, genuinely god-awful discovery plays like artistic sleight-of-hand rather than the profoundly tautological revelation it aspires to be.