Lucile Hadzihalilovic's 2004 film Innocence is a beautiful, empty vessel. (And I wouldn't be able to stay away from vaginal imagery if I tried!) It doesn't have anything new to say but it does find a lovely way to say that nothing new. Which is something. I suppose here you could update that old adage, "If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all," to "If you don't have anything new to say, find a lovely way to say it." And then maybe someone will hand you the money to make a movie out of it (and it probably helps if your boyfriend is Gaspar Noé). Aaaaaanyway, Innocence tells the story of a mysterious boarding school in the woods for girls that's basically the setting for a really thin allegory about ripening girlhood. Spoilery example: when the girls reach a certain age their ribbons go violet and they're sent out into the world to play in and get sprayed in the face with a giant fountain. Yeah. Subtle it ain't. Anyway, it is a beautiful film to look at though so I knew I'd have to grab some frames to share. So I did.
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1 comment:
I think it's pretty fantastic in the way it lets mood and metaphor take place of plot, and yet its themes couldn't be more clear... then again the title probably helps. It's just beautiful to look at and there's that awesome undercurrent of dread and mystery. My favorite girl was that weird looking one who sinks in the boat. I was sad to see her adorably freaky self go only to be replaced by that self-righteous little dancer. And that ending is just superb - I like your pornographic summation of it too. God I love the French making movies for an audience of five, and me being one of them.
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