Swimming Pool Showdown: Viral Scene's Shocking Backstory Leaves Audiences in Tears

Warning, this article discusses SA and incest which some viewers may find distressing.*

Flicks can sometimes hit us right in the gut, shaking our core with stories so intense and unsettling they linger long after the credits roll. In this realm of cinematic shockers, there’s a movie by the master behind Dune that’s been stirring viewers into uncomfortable silences. If you thought you’ve watched humanity’s darker facets in a thriller about a hostage situation at an Apple store—amassing 15 million views in a mere week—that’s merely dipping your toes in the deep end.

Fasten your seatbelts, folks (or better yet, hold onto something tighter… like your emotions): Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, a film from 2010, is on track to throw a wrench into your weekend plans. And just why would you willingly waltz into this emotional turmoil, you ask? Because sometimes, to understand the world in all its fucked-up glory, you’ve got to be willing to face the tough stuff—you’ve got to know why some scenes are etched in cinematic history, punching you in the stomach like an unexpectedly popped champagne cork at New Year’s.

For those of you drawn to the guts of it all, here’s what awaits: based on a play by Wajdi Mouawad, this gripping drama explores the grim realities of a family caught in the devastation of war and the personal tragedy that follows. Follow me, as we dive into a descent into discontent, uncovering layers of truth that even the characters themselves, a pair of Canadian twins filling their mother’s last wishes, could scarcely imagine.

Now, if the above sounds like the most disturbing crap-shoot of a film synopsis ever, you’re not entirely wrong. There’s a scene, a game changer, where a simple tattoo sends shiver down the spine like an unheeded warning.

And for those who’d dare to see for themselves, one has to wonder—what’s the threshold of cinematic discomfort? Turn away now to avoid serious spoilers, but if you’re still with me, buckle up, because this is like watching a car crash in the slowest motion; you can’t look away, no matter how much it hurts.

**Turn away now to avoid serious spoilers.**

Have you had your fill of the lighter stuff on Netflix? If you’re ready to expand your Wizard-of-Oz-likeness view on humanity, this harrowing tale has transformed viewers, eliciting the

Warning, this article discusses SA and incest which some viewers may find distressing.

Viewers are being left ‘absolutely speechless’ over a film directed by the same creative as Dune with a ‘haunting’ ending.

If you’d already watched the Netflix thriller based on a real-life hostage situation in an Apple store, which has been viewed 15 million times in a week, then there’s another film which is even more harrowing.

A 2010 release, directed by Dune‘s Denis Villeneuve, has left viewers ‘crying the most’ out of all films they’ve seen, with many dubbing one particular scene ‘one of the hardest scenes in cinema history’.

Prepare to cancel your Saturday evening plans:

Incendies was adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s play of the same name, with a screenplay co-written by Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne (White Dog).

Villeneuve also directed the drama, which stars Lubna Azabal (Body of Lies), Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin (Ruptures), Maxim Gaudette (Our Loved Ones), and Rémy Girard (Testament).

It centres around a pair of Canadian twins who travel to a war-torn area in the Middle East to fulfil their mother’s last wishes of delivering letters to their father and older brother after she passes away as a result of a stroke she experiences at a community swimming pool.

The brother and sister twins end up experiencing horrors, uncovering family secrets and being shocked about what they find out about themselves along the way.

And there’s one scene in the movie which has lingered in the minds of many viewers, having shocked them to their core.

The pool scene of the French-Canadian drama is a flashback, showing the twin’s mom, Nawal, having moved over to Canada and going for a swim in a crowded public pool.

When she stops swimming and comes to a rest by the side, she looks up to find a man with a small tattoo on his ankle and that’s the moment viewers felt like they’d been punched in a stomach.

Turn away now to avoid serious spoilers.

Viewers have been left ‘haunted’ (Sony Pictures)

For those who weren’t scrolling on their phone while watching, viewers will remember the tattoo from an earlier point in the film – the art belonging to the ankle of a man who raped Nawal in a wartime prison in the Middle East.

The man is not only her rapist, but the twins’ father and as if this wasn’t all harrowing enough already, Nawal then climbs out of the pool and another flashback is shown while also being intercut with the twins in the present day.

The man’s face – not just his ankle – is shown and reveals the man who raped Nawal is also her son – the twin’s half-brother.

Upon realizing the truth, Nawal has a stroke and this eventually leads to her passing away.

And despite the film coming out over 10 years ago, the scene still ‘haunts’ viewers to this day.

One Twitter user wrote: “People who understand the context of this scene will never see the world the same way again.”

The pool scene has left viewers in pieces (Sony Pictures)

“One of the hardest scenes in cinema history,” another added.

And while many have urged people not to watch the film given how harrowing it is, a third resolved: [Translation] “I recommend to everyone in my life, it’s the one that made me cry the most, a very striking, heavy film.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.