The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999)

Confused, non-linear film tells the sexual story of a film director from his life at age 5, age 12, age 16, a man embarking on his first film in 1950's Tunisia, and finally to his current ... See full summary »

Director:

Mike Figgis

Writer:

Mike Figgis

Stars:

Julian Sands, Saffron Burrows, Stefano Dionisi

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julian Sands	...	Adult Nic
Saffron Burrows	...	English / Italian Twin
Stefano Dionisi	...	Luca
Kelly Macdonald	...	Susan
Gina McKee	...	Susan's Mother
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Nic, aged 16
Bernard Hill	...	Susan's Father
Rossy de Palma	...	Blind Woman
John Cowey	...	Nic, aged 5
Nina McKay	...	Mixed Race Girl
Dickson Osa-Omorogbe	...	Wangi
Jock Gibson Cowl	...	Old Colonial Man
Justin Chadwick	...	Flash Man
Femi Ogunbanjo	...	Adam
Hanne Klintoe	...	Eve

Storyline

Confused, non-linear film tells the sexual story of a film director from his life at age 5, age 12, age 16, a man embarking on his first film in 1950's Tunisia, and finally to his current life. Along the way he has sexual exploits with an older woman as a teen, gets involved with an Italian couple Tunisia that culminates in the killing of a local boy and the brutal revenge murder of the woman, and ultimately is married to a cold woman.

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Plot Keywords:

tunisia | murder | italian | 1950s | film making | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual images, pervasive nudity, violence and language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Death and Loss of Sexual Innocence

Filming Locations:

Northumberland, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$50,354 (USA) (28 May 1999)

Gross:

$399,793 (USA) (27 August 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Newmarket Capital Group, Red Mullet Productions, Summit Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was made on an extremely low budget and scenes supposedly set amidst the "red soil" of Nigeria were actually filmed in the Northumbrian countryside, near Morpeth (UK)

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Soundtracks

"Girl Don't Come"
Written by Chris Andrews
Performed by Sandie Shaw

User Reviews

the loss of memory

The LoSI may have been my favourite movie from 1999. To help set the scene for that comment, my favourite movie from 1998 may have been The Thin Red Line. It seems that movies that I love generally split the audience into two groups. Those that lose interest or are disgusted, and those that find these manifestations of the possibilities offered by film making exciting.

I enjoy films that are told through cliche as much as the next person. High production values, non-innovative camera work, predictable characterizations (even within complex plot lines) are fun. But I also like to see the breadth of cinema challenged. Occasionally, films are able to appeal to both the audiences that want familiar story telling methods, and those that want to be challenged. It's great when that happens, but both the LoSI and the TRL have failed to do this for a significant portion of the audience (blue vs red America?).

Some of the best parts of LoSI have to do with capturing moments that distill those things that we share. For example, the fumbling teenage living room scene hit some parts of the give and take of early sexual experience perfectly. A frustrated car ride captures family dyamics, and the everyday moments of getting along/by better than any other film I've seen. A distant viewing of domesticity (including putting a child to bed and love making over chopped vegetables) through a window precisely underscore more cliches of everyday living that are cliches because they happen to us. Perhaps because these scenes don't inform a simple story narrative, they fail to hold the interest of those looking for escape FROM life (again, as everyday lived). But I'm not looking for that. I'm looking for a celebration of identity, and those things that create it, and I am willing to work my way through what is, I think, essentially a character piece.

This movie does, I think, a very good job of giving us, in two hours, a short examination of the develpment of one character's sexuality. How that development is a loss of sexual innocence, and how this loss ties in to larger ideas in our society (adam and eve), is something that I have both an academic (reflective) and an aesthetic (less relfective) interest in. As such, this movie appeals to me.

It won't appeal to everyone. I think that a good way to judge whether you should see this movie or not is if you _LOVED_ Saving Private Ryan and _HATED_ The Thin Red Line. If so, do NOT see this movie. If you liked both, or liked only the thin red line, you'll probably be more interested in watch LoSI.

The audience probably splits similarly in regards to the Figgis Filmography. Much of his early (mass market) work appeals to the first set (but not exclusively). His later work, the second (exclusively).