Synopsis: Gushing water. Subterranean rumbling. Sun-dappled green vistas behind huge stone walls. So begins Innocence, a fascinating fable about a mysterious school for girls, where one arrives by coffin to a self-enclosed, highly regimented universe of botany classes, ballet and playtime. The journey from girl to womanhood and the dangers and perils contained therein has rarely, if ever, been explored in a more creative manner than in this intoxicating feature by acclaimed film director Lucile Hadzihalilovic. With stunning cinematography by Benoit Debie (Irreversible, Calvaire), a world both compelling and ominous unfolds as six-year-old Iris watches time pass and girls disappearing one by one…

Starring Marion Cotillard, the acclaimed actress who portrays Edith Piaf in the hit foreign film, La Vie En Rose.
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Innocence 8.25

I knew very little about this film going in. I don’t even recall for sure when and where I picked it up (I believe it may have been at closing of a local video store that mostly carried independent and foreign cinema… four years ago! ). I only knew what the synopsis on the back of the DVD told me. And, mercifully (unlike the one posted above! ), it had scant detail:

“In a mysterious establishment where only dance and science are taught, three little girls will discover the strange rules which govern this school and their lives.”

Beyond that, I was pulled in by the luscious greenery and the promise of childhood innocence (which, I must say, is a welcome refresher after long stretches of more mature fare; one has to clean one’s palate from time to time ). So, when I sat down to watch this, all I knew is that it was a girl’s school and that there was a mystery of some sort.

Then the credits rolled.

Not only did all the credits play at the beginning of the film, keeping its audience on standby for a few minutes, but it was accompanied by a droning sound that set a bit of an eerie tone – hardly what I was expecting from what looked like such a pretty film. And then the credits mentioned that this is based on a book called ‘Mine-Haha, or On the Bodily Education of Young Girls’.

I sunk into my seat.

Let me explain: in French it said “éducation corporelle’, which I took to mean corporal punishment. I can tell you that I was immediately creeped out. Between the strange soundtrack and the notion of watching little girls get the strap (or worse torment! ) from their teachers, I suddenly wasn’t looking forward to watching this film. And, even if I had translated it properly, I may very well (considering the set-up thus far), worry that it was something more insidious. Honestly, in this day and age of shock cinema like ‘Saw’ and ‘Human Centipede’, nothing would surprise me. And, thus, I can get my guard up pretty fast.

I’m happy to report that ‘Innocence’ has nothing to do with my worst fears.

Having said this, it still remains a terribly eerie journey through the eyes of a handful of young schoolgirls. From our first look at their institution, which makes it look like a desolate abattoir, to the fact that the little girls are brought in encased in child-sized coffins (yes, you read that right! It’s so weird… ), I got a real sinister vibe from the film.

And this continues for the rest of the film: most of the situations that we encounter throughout ‘Innocence’ are left purposely ambiguous, leaving us to fill in the empty space with whatever our dark hearts can muster. It’s helped along by the filmmaker, of course, who lights the film a certain way, makes the few adult actors look a certain way and say cryptic things, sets up uncertainty about the girls’ fates, …etc.

There’s even a slightly pedo- quality to it that left me disturbed. Is that a correct assessment, or is it a product of having been trained by our society to look away instead of appreciating the beauty of children? It’s a tough topic to discuss, because it’s so loaded, but I was very uncomfortable by some of the sequences in this film, and I wonder if they were the filmmaker’s intention or if she was completely oblivious to it (I’ve since discovered that she once made a short film on this subject, so perhaps it’s something she’s trying to address). Either way, I had a pronounced urge to avert my eyes because I felt ill-at-ease watching.

Was ‘Innocence’ meant to be disturbing? I’m not really sure. I wonder if this was an exercise of comparison between childhood and adulthood perspectives, the two being radically different due to life experiences. For instance, would the girls’ way of looking at the same events be “pure” due to their innocence, whereas we, as “tainted” adults see things with a different, more concerned/wary, perspective? Is my lack of innocence the reason why the film has such an ominous vibe?

This alone makes me want to discuss the film with others who have seen it. I think that the film can force us to address this side of human nature. The book was apparently similar in that it also told us that, to appreciate innocence, one has to gain experience. But, paradoxically, in gaining experience, one must shed innocence. Is this perhaps part of the reason why human beings feel compelled to have children of their own despite socio-economic uncertainty – to reconnect with their own lost innocence?

One of the things that makes the film interesting is that we gradually change protagonists along the way, seeing that world through new and increasingly more mature eyes. It was such a subtle shift that I was surprised to discover it had happened: at one point I noticed that the little girl we were following at first had basically dropped out of the picture. Only then did I realize that we had moved on completely. Mind you, the film tends to be on the slow side, no doubt to create its eerie mood, so it’s natural that these changes creep up on us as well. Still, it says something about the director’s skill, I think.

The fact that she got such solid performances out of so many under-age actors is something to behold. I totally bought into the world that was created; I didn’t feel like it was staged or that the little girls were performing at all. I’m not aware of Hadzihalilovic’s technique, but she pulled this off adeptly. The rest of the film I also perfectly crafted – on all counts. I’m surprised that she isn’t making more movies, because, based solely on this outing, I would imagine her to be quite a force to be reckoned with. In fact, I would love to see more from her.

Anyway, I could comment further, but I suspect that this would only serve to destroy the suspense it builds for those of you keen on giving it a try…

Bottom line is that ‘Innocence’ surprised me in a good way, even if its subject matter and tone weren’t always pleasant. As far as I’m concerned, in art, that has to be expected from time to time; to make us think and feel it’s essential to experience many different areas of ourselves. I don’t condone extreme, blatant, exploitative “art” in any way shape or form (it merely exists to shock, not to make its audience reflect), but ‘Innocence’ is nowhere near that type of filmmaking. Case-in-point: it got a “G” rating. For real. Cross my heart and hope to die.

Post scriptum: strangely, a similar production called ‘The Fine Art of Love: Mine Ha-Ha’ was released two years later. It’s unfathomable to me that the same topics or source material are often produced for the silver screen in pairs by completely different filmmakers (Dangerous Liaisons/Valmont, Dante’s Peak/Volcano, A Bug’s Life/Antz, Armageddon/Deep Impact, …etc). It’s a complete mystery why this would happen; it seems counter-intuitive to have competing projects instead of doing something fresh. Oh well… it’s probably pointless to try to make sense of it. Que sera, sera.