Alisson Lalieux, Ana Palomo-Diaz, Astrid Homme

Confused, yet curious, six-year-old Iris is taken in hand by Bianca, the leader of a group of girls who live in one of five houses that make up a kind of boarding school. The only adults are old serva...( read more  read more... )nts and two authoritarian teachers. Obedience is paramount. Those caught trying to escape are either swallowed up by the horrors of the outside world or condemned to serve the other girls within the school walls for the rest of their lives. The girls suffer various indignities of school life, longing to get outside. However, the eldest girls disappear each night for several hours under orders not to reveal their whereabouts to the others. In the end, we learn how these girls step into adulthood in this familiar, but clearly alternate, universe.

Flixster Users

73% liked it

3,333 ratings

Critics

65% liked it

17 critics

R, 1 hr. 55 min.

Directed by: Lucile Hadzihalilovic

Release Date: September 10, 2004

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: November 13, 2007

Stats: 249 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (249)


  • June 24, 2008
    Innocence takes place in a mysterious boarding school by a lake, immersed in a haunting, lush forest. Inside, the girls receive biology and dance lessons, swim, and play. They have no idea why they've been sent there, and have no idea when they will be leaving. Mademoiselle Edith...( read more) and Mademoiselle Eva (Marion Cotillard) are in charge. With subtlety, in this blurry and dark environment, they teach the girls about life and music, perparing them for the reality of the outside world.

    Iris, Alice, and Bianca are the protagonists of this story (all excellent actresses), young girls surviving the long rite of passage that is their stay in the institute. Iris, the newcomer, adapts to the mysterious system of the school, and gets used to the idea that she may not be going out in a very long time. Alice struggles to become the best dancer in her class in order to be chosen by the headmistress, and be able to leave the Institute earlier. Bianca is on her final year, readying to leave the fairy-tale woods and return to the "real" world she's probably forgotten.

    The beauty of Innocence is that we as spectators realize that this is just a school! Nothing abnormal is going on, the girls are not being mistreated or abused; in fact, they live in an idyllic place with all commodities at their disposal. Therefore, why are the girls so afraid of it, why does verything seem so mysterious and forbidding? Lucile Hadzihalilovic tries to take us back to the time when we used to be amazed at everything, when all things were new to us, when there was still an element of magic or surprise to life. The truth is that this is a school that prepares potential ballerinas, but to the students it is the entire world, and so everything inside it has a special, larger-than-life significance.

    The film is meandering, contemplative, and above all intimate. The cinematography is breathtaking, and the slow pace of the plot is absolutely hypnotizing. In a way, there are many "clues" and symbols throughout the film, but it would be useless to try to explain them now: Innocence is very open to interpretation, and the waters definitely run deeper than what I was able to explain.

    The film is difficult to categorize, but there is some terror to it: the woods, so still and yet so overflowing with movement and hidden life, are metaphors of what the students are going through... that terrifying, confusing time when "girls become women", to say it lightly, that sort of "being on the edge" of full metamorphoses, something unknown (and therefore menacing) happening inside that can't be identified from outside.

    Hadzihalilovic is a brilliant symbolist. Her film plays like a poem, and it's full of images of gushing water and stillness and movement in nature. She closes the movie with one of the most intelligent and sensible scenes I have ever seen, in which everything has an implicit meaning, with bubbling water, laughter, and a not-so-little girl having the first taste of freedom, taking a vague first look at what the future has in store, at what she has been so thoroughly prepared for as far as her memory can go.
  • June 23, 2008
    In terms of style and execution this film is a rare delight. Hadzihalilovic creates such an intense and sinister atmosphere without the film ever being intense or sinister. It is in fact the film's almost naive innocence that plays with the viewers preconceptions forcing us to co...( read more)nfront a society of young girls hurtling towards adolescence. The film never even considers answering all our questions, but rather offers us visual stimuli to come to our own conclusions. Rather daring without ever being shocking this is a film of true art with similarities to The Wicker Man and Picnic at Hanging Rock. The child actors are incredible and capture the confusion and joy of being so young. Hypnotic and dreamlike this is a film to sit down and watch, making sure one gives it their undivided attention.
  • November 11, 2007
    This has to be one of the most intensely boring films I've ever seen. That said, it is oddly compulsive viewing. A metaphor equating the passage from innocence to sexual maturity with the life cycle of the butterfly, the film is, unfortunately, not quite as magical as it should b...( read more)e. Certain moments are stunning though, not least the fountain scene at the very end.
  • December 2, 2006
    Very difficult to get a handle on. Innocence is an intimate French drama concerning the endangerment of children at a young girl's boarding school. Various rules are in force, heighteneing the sense of preciousness in the pre-teens' lives.
    Marion Cotillard is the only 'name' act...( read more)ress, having a small part as their soft-touch ballet teacher, working in opposition to the more matriarchal head of the house.
    Though there is visual style to burn, many of the images simply make little sense, and thus the threat (the crux of the story) is diminished by only existing in an absurdist fashion. For example, the girls are brought in individually in adult-sized coffins. This makes for some gorgeous cinematography, but also an empty metaphor. Later there is a scene punctuated by extreme close-ups of a girl playing enthusiastically on a swing. As predicted, she falls off, and the others rally round, but she seems to be a-OK. Move to the next scene. The only time said Innocence seems to be really threatened is in the film's final scene, where the (near-teenage) students play in a water fountain with various older boys, an adept depiction of young libido.
    Overall, pretty but perhaps a little hollow.
  • June 18, 2009
    The use of subtle clues, metaphors and photography as the main story teller makes "Innocence" a confusing and often frustrating experience, where much is left for viewer interpretation. However, Hadzihalilovic manages to create a pretty intense and ominous atmosphere, with help f...( read more)rom talented child actresses and a beautiful imagery. If I had watched it when I was in a thinking-mood I would probably found it more engaging, but since I were unable to enjoy this film my grade stays low.
  • November 19, 2009
    i can't understand this story.
    but girls are beautiful.
  • September 21, 2009
    The story plot seems different to the story plots I usually watch but it looks Interesting so why not give it a try
  • June 24, 2009
    expertly produce and skillfully acted. sinister and altogether vage, obtuse and a metaphoric slightly dreamlike scape of youth. slow to the point of boredom at moments, yet still compelling.

    eloquent and simple, it leaves you grasping for a meaning yet prevails an enigma.
  • June 23, 2009
    Subtle clues, metaphors, and photography combine in this film and make for a confusing but elequent piece.

    The plot itself is opun to the viewers mind to create,so loosely woven are the scenes that you find yourself in a way creating half of the film yourself,filling in and a...( read more)dding detail.

    Very striking,reminding you of the novel the Lord of the Flies.

    Reccomeded for the mature film viewers and people who appreciate excellent cinematography.
  • June 18, 2009
    Más aburrida imposible.

Critic Reviews


October 20, 2005
Marcy Dermansky, About.com

Men with a penchant for young girls: please stay away. full review

October 18, 2005
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

Bursting with pretentious pap about women's journey from a state of undefiled innocence to sullied slutdom. full review

View more Innocence reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Innocence" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies)
    Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies) (100%)
  • The Company of Wolves
    The Company of Wolves (100%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Innocence : Watch Free on TV


Innocence Trivia


  • Which movie had the tagline: "Innocence is what he knows. Beauty is what she sees"?  Answer »
  • Which actress played in the movie "Echoes Of Innocence"?   Answer »
  • In which movie a successful lawyer has an online friend that then happens to be a prison escapee claiming her innocence and wanting his help to clear her name?  Answer »
  • Who directed "Boxcar Bertha", "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "New York, New York", "Kundun", "The Last Waltz" and "The Age of Innocence"?  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Innocence. Want to create one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?