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synopsis
A mother’s last wishes send twins Jeanne and Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their roots. Scorched is a deeply moving coming-of-age story that brings the horror of war to a starkly personal level, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the indelible scars of the cycle of violence, and the uncanny power of the will to survive. “Scorched teaches us that a third party is needed between two adversaries, to free us of the deeply rooted hatred of the past. The Other is the mirror, the salvation. Convinced that 'nothing is more beautiful that being together,' the main character refuses to launch accusations and instead asks people to take responsibility.” (Denis Villeneuve)

Scorched starts with a bang: a brother and sister are read their mother’s last wishes only to discover that the father they thought dead is still alive and that they have a brother somewhere in the Middle East. Denis Villeneuve loves nothing more than to startle his audience with uncanny situations that he always films in a clinical way. Dialogue provides the punch, silence does too. Director of photography André Turpin gives the film a crisp and intense look while Villeneuve’s favourite actors work their way from Montréal to Lebanon, from today back to the never-ending wars of the late Sixties. (Agnes C. Poirier)