IMDb RATING
6.8/10
6.5K
YOUR RATING
A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.A look inside an offbeat boarding school for young girls.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 2 nominations
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- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the 'extras' on the DVD release, the director relates that children playing unsupervised in nature (the forest, the pond) is a 'freeing' setting for them, an 'uncontrolled' environment to explore. Water is very important, as it is a highly visible medium in its many forms (including within or from underneath a surface), and it is necessary, sensual, and enjoyable, but also dangerous (the drowning), and evokes many emotions. Flowing water can also symbolize the passage of time. The dynamic of children relating to adults, not understating them or their actions, while seeing them as role models, is another dichotomy the director wanted to emphasize. Ambiguity and a 'dream-like' quality are also important elements of the film. She states they digitally enhanced or 'tweaked' colors in the film to 'non-realistic' tones, to achieve mood and lighting effect, particularly day for night shots. The director says she is not interested in explaining meaning: "... what I like in cinema is being lost. I like films I don't completely understand, so they stay with me longer after they're over," and, "I believe everyone can find their own stories within the film."
- Crazy creditsThe entire set of credits is shown at the opening of the movie.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018)
- SoundtracksOrchestral Suite from La Petite Renard Rusée
Composed by Leos Janácek
Libretto by Rudolf Tesnohlídek
Performed by Czech Philharmonic (as The Czech Philharmonic)
Conducted by Vaclav Talich
Featured review
Girls in white ... until womanhood spoils the color scheme?
If you've ever read the work of German symbolist writer Frank Wedekind then you may already have an idea about how difficult a text first feature writer-director Lucile Hadzihalilovic chose to adapt and execute. But execute she does for a good portion of the film until the rather obvious over-the-top conclusion that fails to answer many of the questions raised earlier.
That said, there is much to enjoy this film mainly due to its excellent cinemascope photography and the whole idea of an idyllic place where prepubescent girls are trained to be ballet dancers in order to enter the world as proper teenage women.
Since this is a symbolist writing, one can also entertain thoughts of purgatory (the characters are brought into being via a coffin), isolated same-sex societies (with one old man that is never explained), or some of the themes M. Night Shymalan explored in "The Village" with fear being used to keep a small population under control.
In any case, this film will provoke much discussion afterwards so bring your most knowledgeable cinema pals and dig in. Young girls in white outfits giggling and playing for two hours may not be everyone's simplification of the world at large, but in some ways it does sum up the dangers of segregated societies.
Not bad for a first film with extremely difficult material. A remarkable debut nonetheless.
That said, there is much to enjoy this film mainly due to its excellent cinemascope photography and the whole idea of an idyllic place where prepubescent girls are trained to be ballet dancers in order to enter the world as proper teenage women.
Since this is a symbolist writing, one can also entertain thoughts of purgatory (the characters are brought into being via a coffin), isolated same-sex societies (with one old man that is never explained), or some of the themes M. Night Shymalan explored in "The Village" with fear being used to keep a small population under control.
In any case, this film will provoke much discussion afterwards so bring your most knowledgeable cinema pals and dig in. Young girls in white outfits giggling and playing for two hours may not be everyone's simplification of the world at large, but in some ways it does sum up the dangers of segregated societies.
Not bad for a first film with extremely difficult material. A remarkable debut nonetheless.
helpful•3514
- SONNYK_USA
- Mar 4, 2005
- How long is Innocence?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime2 hours 2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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