Innocence (2004)

A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.

Director:

Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Writers:

Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Frank Wedekind (novel)

Stars:

Zoé Auclair, Lea Bridarolli, Bérangère Haubruge

8 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoé Auclair	...	Iris
Lea Bridarolli	...	Alice
Bérangère Haubruge	...	Bianca
Marion Cotillard	...	Mademoiselle Eva
Hélène de Fougerolles	...	Mademoiselle Edith
Olga Peytavi-Müller	...	Laura
Alisson Lalieux	...	Selma
Ana Palomo-Diaz	...	Nadja
Astrid Homme	...	Rose
Joséphine Van Wambeke	...	Vera
Johanna Surbier	...	Fanny
Grizelle Crozet	...	La fille choisie
Corinne Marchand	...	La directrice
Sonia Petrovna	...	Son assistante
Véronique Nordey	...	L'intendante

Storyline

A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.

---

Plot Keywords:

girl | boarding school | girls' boarding school | little girl | school | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content and brief nudity involving a minor

Details

Country:

Belgium France UK Japan

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 January 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Inocência

Filming Locations:

Parc du Cinquantenaire, Brussels, Belguim

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ex Nihilo, Ateliers de Baere, Blue Light

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 115 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is rated R for "brief nudity involving a minor". However, there is no nudity in the film.

---

Crazy Credits

The movie ends by showing (once again) the title and then a dedication ("for Gaspar"). No credits or company logos are shown after that.

---

Connections

Version of The Fine Art of Love: Mine Ha-Ha (2005)

---

Soundtracks

Orchestral Suite from La Petite Renard Rusée
Composed by Leos Janácek
Libretto by Rudolf Tesnohlídek
Performed by Ceská Filharmonie (as The Czech Philharmonic)
Conducted by Vaclav Talich

User Reviews

Very interesting and impressive debut

We watched this film during my Film History and Theory class this past Thursday and aside from shoddy presentation (the projector was absolutely horrible and displayed the film too dark), I have to say that I enjoyed this quite a bit. At first, I almost dismissed it as artsy, pretentious French cinema due to the very slow pace and methodical direction but it had this eerie quality to it that kept my eyes glued to the screen, anticipating what was yet to come. The story is told in a very abstract way and the story is never really laid out for you in a conventional manner. In truth, it is a very simple tale but told in an imaginative way. There was great imagery and the use of sound to create a mysterious environment was very well done. At times it reminded me of the films of David Lynch, (especially Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr.) and Gaspar Noe (Irreversible), which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. The acting by the principals is very good, considering that they consisted mainly of very young girls. The director managed to capture natural performances from all of them and having worked with children on films in the past, I have to applaud her efforts on this end as I know how difficult it can be to get them to give you the results you're looking for. From a negative stance, the film runs just a bit too long and the pacing could've been trimmed a little to make it run a bit faster and leaner. There were stretches where the film felt like it was never going to end. In the end, I would definitely recommend this to those who appreciate art-house cinema as this caters directly to them. This was an impressive debut for Ms. Hadzihalilovic and I am definitely curious to see what she comes up with next.

RATING: ***1/2 out of *****.