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Denis Villeneuve’s excellent war-mystery film, INCENDIES – an adaptation of the 2003 by Wajdi Mouawad, which translates to SCORCHED in English.

Given that Naughty Dog have spent the last three years teasing a sequel to The Last of Us (‘a story about hate’ that explores the theme of ‘cycles of violence’), it seems appropriate to share a film that charts identical territory (and has likely been a direct influence on the developers).

Without giving the plot away, INCENDIES is a foreign-language film about a French-Canadian woman of Middle Eastern descent tracing her mother’s history in Lebanon whilst in search of her (unknown) father and brother.

The story unfolds using two timelines: the first involves the protagonist visiting the Middle East and fulfilling her mother’s wishes, only to discover that her mother is vilified by those who knew her; and the second follows the mother back in her twenties, before she left the Middle East, immigrated to Canada, and gave birth to her son and daughter. This timeline, set during the Lebanese Civil War, reveals how difficult the mother’s life was, and how the war-torn country and its religious skirmishes often jeopardised the mother’s safety by placing her in immense danger. The conflict had a profound impact on her mentality, teaching how to survive fates worse than death (whilst also breeding a need for vengeance and, eventually, acceptance if not forgiveness).

I’ve long held that Part II will explore how individuals are both liberated and cursed by the actions of their parents. To explain how INCENDIES ties into this message would ruin the film. Needless to say, Villeneuve’s film goes in disturbing, powerful and moving directions. It’s a tough but rewarding watch.

Even if Part II ends up being completely different, which – let’s face it – it almost certainly will, INCENDIES is a fantastic film about parents and their children set against a violent backdrop across two distinct timelines. I’m certain that many of you will be fascinated by the story, and it might even give you some ideas on directions that Part II could take (beyond merely imitating existing post-apocalyptic fiction and making it interactive). There’s even an emphasis on singing to cope with the consequences of witnessing and experiencing evil, as teased by Part II’s debut trailer where Ellie sings whilst bleeding.

Be warned, though: the film is extremely upsetting. When researching the film online, despite relying upon one or two coinci

They bite the bullet and invade through the mountains, and after a few years are able to successfully conquer any last remnant of Christian kingdoms in Iberia