By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Starring: Bérangère Haubruge | Lea Bridarolli | Zoé Auclair
Country: belgium, france, united_kingdom
Year: 2006
Running time: 115
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375233/
Michael says: “There is a lovely sense of foreboding and mystery in INNOCENCE, but the failure of the film to deliver any sort of payoff make it one of the losers of the festival. Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic is the girlfriend of notorious filmmaker Gaspar Noé (IRRÉVERSIBLE) and perhaps that is what accounts for the film’s credits being run at the beginning. INNOCENCE does not proceed to tell its story in reverse however, it is more of a circle. The film begins with the arrival of a coffin at an old mansion inhabited by six young girls, color-coded by age with the ribbons they wear in their hair. From this coffin emerges Iris, a gorgeous six-year-old girl who takes her place as the youngest member of this unlikely group. It soon becomes clear that this house is one of several in a compound walled-away from the rest of the dangerous world. There are no men present, and the only adults include a handful of elderly servants, and two authoritarian teachers. As a year passes, the girls pass the time in different ways depending on their ages. Disobedience is frowned upon, as is discussion of the outside world. It doesn’t add up to much, and you are left wondering if you’ve just watched a fairy tale, a science fiction story, or some sort of allegory. Any way you look at
it, it’s pretty disappointing. 1 ½ cats”