Group 4Ben LiaoBrooks BaoJennifer Wang May Yang

Outline

• I. Introduction -- Brooks• II. Main issue -- Ben• III. Techniques of Expression -- Jennifer• IV. Symbols -- May• V. Conclusion -- Brooks

I. Introduction

1. An adaptation• Adapted from the play

Incendies (2003)• “Incendies”→ “scorched” in

Eng.• Written by Wajdi Mouawad

- Born in Lebanon- Moved to Canada - A playwright, actor and director

• Director: Denis Villeneuve- Born in Quebec, Canada

• Incendies was nominated Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011.

• It was selected as one of the top 10 films to watch in 2010.

2. Main characters

Nawal

Wahab

Nawal’s brother

Nihad

Jeanne

SimonNotary

Shooting

Lover

Raping

Delivering the will

3. Plot Review- Nawal’s journey

- The twin’s journey

4. Historical Background of Middle East

Diverse ethnics

Conflicts between

Christian and Muslim religions

Refugees moving to Lebanon

Civil War

II. Main Issue: INCEST

1. Civil War→Broken Kinship→Tragedy (incest)2. Relation with Greek Tragedy• Oedipus (“swollen foot”)• Oedipus Complex• Devaluation/overvaluation of Kinship

1. INCEST: Civil War

Broken Kinship→ Mother and Son Separated

Incest: Nihad rapes Nawal

Nawal gives birth to twins

Twins find out the tragic truth

2. Relation with Greek Tragedy: Oedipus(“swollen foot”)

Oedipus Complex with a twist of revenge• Oedipus Complex:Son has desire for mother but competes with father (later identifies with father’s strongeness) –Who is “the father”? A twist in the plot (revenge of the refugee army)• Nihad→ saved by a warlord → eager to find his mother → become a sniperA torturer (1:52:16-1:53:30)

Devaluation/overvaluation of Kinship

• Oedipus→ killing Father, marrying Mother• Nihad→ sent to the Kfar Ryat prison as a executioner,

rapes his mother

III. Techniques of Expression

1. Soundtrack • Barely any soundtrack→ Implying overall tone of this film• You and Whose Army

by Radiohead- In the beginning when

Nihad’s having haircut- In the middle when Jeanne’s

listening to music with earphone on the bus

Come on, come onYou think you drive me crazyCome on, come onYou and whose army?You and your cronies

…You forget so easilyWe ride tonightWe ride tonightGhost horsesGhost horsesGhost horsesWe ride tonightWe ride tonightGhost horsesGhost horsesGhost horses..

→ I trust you, but you betray me.

• From Nawal’s perspectives:Raped by the boy she gives birth to• From Nihad’s perspectives:Abandoned by the woman giving birth to him

• Emotional release → Intense to soft

- The fired bus scene- The letter opening scene

• Nami Nami by Marcel Khalife- Arabian lullaby- A support of Nawal in jail (also pacing)- Originally soft and tender, but creepy and chilly here

2. Fictional location names • Daresh, Deressa, Kfar Ryat→ take reference from real models→ not blaming any particular country/ group

elevating the locations to a symbolic level

3. Parallel storylines • Nawal’s and Nihad’s past• The twins retrack their mother’s and father’s/

brother’s past- Going to Daresh, where Nawal goes to school- Going to Deressa, Nawal’s hometown- Going to the prison in Kfar Ryat (in south)- Going to the warlord

4. Red titles→ In correspondence with play (act change)

IV. Symbols

1. Letter• A key to reveal the secrets• A medium that bears the Nawal’s shame, pain,

emotions, and the wish to “be together”• A chance for the twins to go on a request and

retrack their mother’s past

• Tones of the two letters to Nihad1st letter: to the Father→ cold and resentful2nd letter: to the son→ tender, soft, forgiving, a mother speaking to her beloved son

2. Fire vs. Water • Fire: “Incendies” (“scorched” in Eng.)

- The bus is burning→ concrete presentation- Nawal is burning,too → abstract sense

• Water: swimming pool

• Water→ Water in Mother’s womb

→ Birth→ supposedly something people cherish and are happy about

↕A series of sufferings and family tragedy in this film→ like the scorching fire that swallows the characters.

V. Conclusion

• Incendies deals with the issue of incest which happens mostly in Middle East due to its diverse ethnics and regions of people there.

• In this film, the joyful birth becomes the origin of a series of sufferings and irreversible pain. However the power of love enables Nawal to forgive the criminal, her son.

• Soundtrack and parallel storylines help express the main issue and characters’ emotions.

• Letter and fire versus water serve as important role to make the film literary and the one worth watching and digesting repetitively.

Questions to you

• Do you find the theme in this film “incest” overly sentimental?

• Do you agree that “sometimes it’s better not to know”?

Thanks for listening