Incendies: An Outsider’s View of Civil War and its Consequences
Denis Villeneuve Cities of Connection & Disconnections: Discussion Questions 1. How is city (or urbanism according to Luis Wirth) re-defined by flows? In other words, how are the key features of a city defined by this chapter related to Wirth’s urbanism as a way of life? 2. G 2 How is this chapter connected to Incendies? Where is the “point/place” of connection & disconnection? Can you find examples to support and illustrate the chapters concepts (gated community & its connections with its surroudings, city vanishing or multiple time-space, call centers, multiple networks of relations, etc. Incendies: Discussion Questions 1. G 7 Major motifs: broken promise and forsaken children– How does the story of broken families/promises develop, reach its climax and then resolved, using the motifs of broken promise and forsaken children? 2. G 6 Incest: Do you find the theme in this film “incest” overly sentimental? The Group’s question: Do you agree that “sometimes it’s better not to know”? (Compare Simon’s and Jeanne’s responses) 3. G 5 History: How is history discovered through the use of ”documents” (photograph, passport) and sites (university, prison, village, hotel, refugee camp and swimming pool) 4. G3 What roles do the professionals play in this film? E.g. the mathematicians and notaries (Mr. Lebel & Mr. Maddad) play? 5. G 4 Filmic Connection & Disconnection: What do you think about the film’s opening, closing scenes, and the bird-eye’s view in the film? And the use of cell phone as a device for communication? And the use of music? 6. G 1 Cities & Religions: How is Montreal presented? How is it opposed to the fictional place in Middle East (Daresh, Deressa)? How are religions and “ideoscapes” presented in this film? Are there villains in this film? How about Chamseddine? Religion as Ethnicity
NY Beirut Montreal
110901 (2002) Bubble (2006) Incendies (2010) Main characters
Palestinian refugee Christian Arab
Lover Nawal Shooting
rape Wahab
Nawal’s brother
Jeanne
Nihad
Delivering the will, letters, Photograph & passport Simon Notary Denis Villeneuve 1994 REW-FFWD (short; set in Jamaica)
1996 "Le Technétium“ Cosmos
1998 Un 32 août sur terre
2000 Maelström
2008 Next Floor
2009 Polytechnique
2010 Incendies
2013 Prisoners 2013 Enemy Plot (1)
The Twins Newal Daresh
Past (1) The child (3) Nawal + Wahab, (5) Nawal, a student killed + working for a newspaper Nawal gives birth to a sympathetic with the baby, refugees leaves the village pre (1) Mother ill, (4) Jeanne goes to The will the univ. sent Transitions: 1. 00:12:55 00:14:36 Jeanne’s recollection Transitions: Journeys (1) university Transitions: Archival Photos
• Plot (2)
The South Deressa (the camp) The Woman who sings Past When the war (7) Nawal goes back to Nawal in prison breaks out, she Daresh, joins anti- goes back to look Christian/Nationalist for her son w/out group; killed the success; almost Christian group’s leader, get killed on the finally put in jail road pres (6) Jeanne goes (8) Jeanne goes to the (9) Simon and ent to the village, gets prison of Kfar Ryat, talks Libel go to Daresh rejected by the to one jail keeper village women Calls Simon Transitions: Journeys to the South(2) Transitions: Journeys (2) 3. Transition: Prison Scenes
3. 1:25: the babies rescued tunnel Plot (3)
Sarwan Janaan Nihad of May Chamseddine
Pa st The birth of the Nihad a skillful Mother in the twins sniper swimming pool pr es Simon’s arrival; Simon goes to Final revelation en t The twins see the warlord the nurse, to realize that they were the results of rape Transitions: Simon’s Involvement • 1:16 [radiohead music] 1:20 (Simon’s & the notary’s roles) the rape scene in the prison • 1:25: the babies rescued tunnel Transitions: Visiting the Warlord Final Transition: Final Revelation Final Transition: Final Revelation Images of Children
opening vs. ending Outsider’s View: Opening Outsider’s View: Long Shots Outsider’s View: Aerial Views By comparison: Montreal is bleak… • Ideoscape and its rigidity Ideoscape and its fluidity Ideoscape and its floating signs Promise: Lebel vs. Simon Upon knowing the Before going to Daresh brother’s identity (1:39)
• - We'll get her, and then • - They (Abu Tarek & Nihad) come back. are both dead. We open • - Promised. A promise, the envelopes, then that's Mr. Marwan, is sacred it. for a notary. • - That I will not, Simon. This kind of thing is sacred. • (Mr. Maddad): This commit rape. • - Luckily, that runs in the family. The Notaries: Libel & Mr. Maddad
- You really know the woman who sings? You do not know what it means to me. Mathmatics
Jeanne’s teacher --Welcome to pure mathematics, the land of loneliness. The prof at Daresh: confused about times History -- that this period is a series of reprisals (instance of retaliation/revenge) which fit one another in an inexorable logic, as additions.
- One plus one makes two. It can not make one. Chamseddine: Different Versions • 00:45 Chamseddine and his men killed all the Christians to avenge the refugees. The children are perhaps at Deressa. • 1:52 There was an orphanage • in Kfar Kout. I saved the children. I took them with us. … Nihad…he had a gift. But he wanted to find her mother. … he • wanted to be a martyr so that his mother should see her picture everywhere on the walls of the country. Chamseddine
• 1:48 Children will help you, you'll see. • - You can not ask me. • - Your children are our children, Nawal. Your family is our family. Landscape Destroyed Console yourself because nothing is more beautiful than being together. Main Concepts (2): Global Flows (Arjun Appadurai)
Ideoscape Mediascape Technoscape Ethnoscape Financescape
Christian vs. Music Migrants Exile Muslim Immigrants
In a Quest (like Ko) Course: Main Concepts (3): Next Week Urban Urbanism as Landscape Time-Space Global Globalization a Way of of as Compression Life Flows Strangeness Palimpsest Mediated Place/Space/ Flaneuris Anomie Communi Other Landscape m cation
When Enemy Cabbie, Yesterday What Love Go God-Man- Comes Amelie Super Time is it go Taipei 4- Dog Way Citizen Ko there? Course: Main Themes
• urbanism as a way of life, • history and oblivion, • urban migrant and family, • flâneurism, • global capital flows and simulation • Family, immigrants and strangers in global flows Recurrent Motifs in our Course Presentations of City •Cityscape, its history, “character” (image), nodes, areas, streets and landmarks •City vs. “Country” Flows (1): Communication vs. Fragmentation •1. letter writing and delivery •2. usages of cell phone Flows (2): Cultural Globalization •Images, Commodities and Simulacra •Use of Music Flows (3): Migration: Internal and External Flows (4): War, Love and “Family” & Flows of Desire