Incendies (2010)

 One plus one equals one

When the mother of a set of adult twins passes away, she leaves them with some bizarre final instructions.  They are instructed to find their father and their brother, both of whom they've never met.  The interwoven narrative moves seamlessly between the past and the present to tell the story from two perspectives - the perspective of the twins in the present and their mother's perspective in the past.  This is a very engrossing film.  It is hard to pigeonhole into one genre.  It has some thrilling elements, a lot of drama, but there is also some mystery.  Overall, I love this film because of the strong story and the way the story is told.  Plus its in French!

Incendies gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Wajdi Mouawad, Denis Villeneuve
Starring:  Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 82 out of 100

Ne Le Dis a Personne (Tell No One) 2006

It ain't over 'til its over

Dr Alexandre Beck's wife Margot is killed mysteriously. Eight years later he gets a cryptic email leading him to believe she is still alive. Then a video of Margot shows up in his inbox confirming that fact.  Alexandre is left trying to figure out what is happening. This is a good old-fashioned whodunit movie that twists and turns until the payoff. And the payoff is as good or better than many that I've seen. The French know how to make good movies.  They also know how to make great bread, coffee, wine, cheese, soccer players, and cyclists.  Viva la France!!!

Tell No One pays off with 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Guillaume Canet

Writer: Guillaume Canet, Philippe Lefebvre,

Starring: François Cluzet, Marie-Josée Croze, (Munich, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) Kristin Scott Thomas (Mission Impossible, Gosford Park, Sarah's Key)

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Metacritic: 82 out of 100