- Jubilee offer: spend £10 or more on any product sold by Amazon.co.uk on or before June 6 and you can buy The Diamond Jubilee A Classical Celebration Album for just £2.50 Here's how (terms and conditions apply)
Special Offers and Product Promotions
Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
|
Reviews
Product Description
At the heart of a densely wooded forest lies a mysterious girls' boarding school, cut off from the outside world by a great wall with no door. Within, a group of youngsters aged between seven and twelve gather round a small coffin, from which emerges a new pupil, six-year-old Iris. Led by the eldest girl, Bianca, Iris is introduced to this strange yet enchanting world of lamp-lit forest paths and eerie underground passageways, where there are no adults save for some elderly servants and two melancholy young teachers. But this haven is one from which the girls are forbidden to leave; those that do are never heard from again. Haunting and bizarre, filmmaker Lucile Hadzihalovic imbues Innocence with a fairytale-like sense of menace and images of surreal beauty, creating a mesemrising and timeless evocation of childhood.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The line between cinematic art and exploitation has rarely seemed finer and nervier than in the French film "Innocence." A parable about the lost paradise of girlhood, specifically those prepubescent years before a girl surrenders to the inevitable bumps and fluids, the film marks the directing debut of Lucile Hadzihalilovic, whose seemingly plotless story centers on an all-girls boarding school in a thickly treed forest of the sort usually inhabited by hungry wolves and little wayfarers in symbolic red hoods. Ms. Hadzihalilovic based her screenplay on a relatively obscure text by the German-born playwright Frank Wedekind called "Mine-Haha, or the Corporeal Education of Young Girls." The fealty of Ms. Hadzihalilovic's translation of the Wedekind text notwithstanding, the dubious vision of utopia put forth in this film finds the girls engaged in an almost militaristic pursuit of physical perfection without commensurate attention paid to their intellect. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: San Sebastian International Film Festival, Stockholm Film Festival, ...Innocence
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I had never heard of this film before i picked it off the shelf, so I had no idea what to expect.
It's based on 'Mine-Haha, or the Physical Education of Young Girls', by a German playwright named Frank Wedekind. The plot revolves around a boarding school for girls roughly aged 5 or 6 up until they hit puberty, in the middle of a dense forest.
As soon as the film starts, it fills the viewer with a sense of foreboding, with a long, flickery opening featuring a child-sized coffin and no music, but a deep, ominous rumbling sound instead. That combined with the next scene, of girls in identical white uniforms opening the coffin to reveal thier new, living, companion, certainly made me expect some kind of sinister nightmare. I, like many other viewers, was concerned that it would turn out to be a film about paedophillia, and I was waiting with bated breath for some true horror to come around the corner.
But actually, there are no monsters or paedophiles, but rather a distinct lack of sexual innuendos. The film really is about innocence. The celebration of young girls in the film would only a few decades ago have seemed totally unremarkable, before such images were so sexualised as they sometimes are nowadays. The subject of developing female sexuality is indeed touched on, especially towards the end, but not in nearly as sinister a manner as one might expect.
The school takes on a life of its own. On the one hand its a child's paradise, where the girls can play and practice dance and gymnastics among the trees and swim in the lake, in between exciting lessons. But it also feels like a prison. It is inescapable, and those who try to escape meet a tragic fate or are never spoken of again. There are many dark elements, including mysterious underground tunnels, and strange sounds which come from beneath the lake. The headmistress takes one blue-ribboned girl a year away from the school, based more on neck length and beauty than dance talent or intelligence.
The imagery is magical and very original, from the lamp-lit trees at night to the ominous red curtain. The cinematography is breathtaking, and gives the film a dreamlike fantasy missing from other films of a similar genre.
Innocence is essentially a film about the magic of young girls and thier own utopian world. It touches on thier emotional and sexual development and the authoritarian structure of the school system, with a sense of anticipation and unease pervading the whole film, reflecting the emotions of a young girl going into puberty, with a suprisingly optimistic ending.
I, for one, absoloutely loved it.
It's based on 'Mine-Haha, or the Physical Education of Young Girls', by a German playwright named Frank Wedekind. The plot revolves around a boarding school for girls roughly aged 5 or 6 up until they hit puberty, in the middle of a dense forest.
As soon as the film starts, it fills the viewer with a sense of foreboding, with a long, flickery opening featuring a child-sized coffin and no music, but a deep, ominous rumbling sound instead. That combined with the next scene, of girls in identical white uniforms opening the coffin to reveal thier new, living, companion, certainly made me expect some kind of sinister nightmare. I, like many other viewers, was concerned that it would turn out to be a film about paedophillia, and I was waiting with bated breath for some true horror to come around the corner.
But actually, there are no monsters or paedophiles, but rather a distinct lack of sexual innuendos. The film really is about innocence. The celebration of young girls in the film would only a few decades ago have seemed totally unremarkable, before such images were so sexualised as they sometimes are nowadays. The subject of developing female sexuality is indeed touched on, especially towards the end, but not in nearly as sinister a manner as one might expect.
The school takes on a life of its own. On the one hand its a child's paradise, where the girls can play and practice dance and gymnastics among the trees and swim in the lake, in between exciting lessons. But it also feels like a prison. It is inescapable, and those who try to escape meet a tragic fate or are never spoken of again. There are many dark elements, including mysterious underground tunnels, and strange sounds which come from beneath the lake. The headmistress takes one blue-ribboned girl a year away from the school, based more on neck length and beauty than dance talent or intelligence.
The imagery is magical and very original, from the lamp-lit trees at night to the ominous red curtain. The cinematography is breathtaking, and gives the film a dreamlike fantasy missing from other films of a similar genre.
Innocence is essentially a film about the magic of young girls and thier own utopian world. It touches on thier emotional and sexual development and the authoritarian structure of the school system, with a sense of anticipation and unease pervading the whole film, reflecting the emotions of a young girl going into puberty, with a suprisingly optimistic ending.
I, for one, absoloutely loved it.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Innocence is nothing like the other DVDs you might see in the 'similar items' category. If you're looking for something which blends eroticism with art then this is not the film for you.
If, however, you are looking for a refreshing exploration of childhood then Innocence is the film for you. There are sinister sexual overtones but they are presented as exactly that. This is a film about the beauty of childhood. Hadlizahilovic challenges the viewer's preconceptions by suggesting and then withdrawing from the notions of sex and paedophilia. The DVD cover is incredibly suggestive but this film is consciously NOT about sex, a fact which leaves the viewer with a refreshingly innocent image of what childhood should be.
If, however, you are looking for a refreshing exploration of childhood then Innocence is the film for you. There are sinister sexual overtones but they are presented as exactly that. This is a film about the beauty of childhood. Hadlizahilovic challenges the viewer's preconceptions by suggesting and then withdrawing from the notions of sex and paedophilia. The DVD cover is incredibly suggestive but this film is consciously NOT about sex, a fact which leaves the viewer with a refreshingly innocent image of what childhood should be.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
If Lucile Hadzihalilovic was aiming for an enigmatic debut with Innocence - then she's certainly succeeded!
The film is set in the micro-reality of a private school cut off from the rest of the world by a surrounding wall. The girls in the school arrive in a coffin to begin their stay. Sounds dark? The feeling continues.
They have no visitors, in fact; no contact with the outside world whatsoever. They have a hierarchical system identified by coloured hair ribbons - red, for example; represents the youngest girls.
With the highly sexualised culture we live in, you can't but feel slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the near naked girls bathing in a lake, and the various other scenes involving more than the usual amount of flesh. This seems to complement the title perfectly - "Innocence" - there is nothing sexual about the scenes, nothing untoward, there is nothing to be uncomfortable about. There is only one scene which could be labelled sexual, but it is a very tasteful moment involving an older girl experimenting with the feel of velvet against her skin.
The general eeriness of the film is fortified by the lack of verbal communication, especially from adults - there must only be 5 or 6 minutes of adult dialogue. There is a sense of unease amongst the tutors and you try to imagine how the cause of this will all be revealed at the end.
Who put the girls in the school? Why aren't they allowed out until they hit puberty? Who are the late night ballet performances for? You start to think the unthinkable, especially when during a late night performance a girl catches a flower from a hidden audience member and is told she is the prettiest girl on stage.
So many questions posed - but unfortunately never answered.
I love a film which encourages you to think, but sometimes it seems lazy to not offer any sort of explanation. You think back to the long scenes and try to think if you saw any clues as to the school's mission, but nothing comes to mind.
In a nutshell: Beautifully shot, lengthy scenes with some dark moments and an overall dark feel. This film ends though without satisfying your protective parental instincts about the girls. At least there is an upbeat scene at the end to stop it ending on a low.
The film is set in the micro-reality of a private school cut off from the rest of the world by a surrounding wall. The girls in the school arrive in a coffin to begin their stay. Sounds dark? The feeling continues.
They have no visitors, in fact; no contact with the outside world whatsoever. They have a hierarchical system identified by coloured hair ribbons - red, for example; represents the youngest girls.
With the highly sexualised culture we live in, you can't but feel slightly uncomfortable at the sight of the near naked girls bathing in a lake, and the various other scenes involving more than the usual amount of flesh. This seems to complement the title perfectly - "Innocence" - there is nothing sexual about the scenes, nothing untoward, there is nothing to be uncomfortable about. There is only one scene which could be labelled sexual, but it is a very tasteful moment involving an older girl experimenting with the feel of velvet against her skin.
The general eeriness of the film is fortified by the lack of verbal communication, especially from adults - there must only be 5 or 6 minutes of adult dialogue. There is a sense of unease amongst the tutors and you try to imagine how the cause of this will all be revealed at the end.
Who put the girls in the school? Why aren't they allowed out until they hit puberty? Who are the late night ballet performances for? You start to think the unthinkable, especially when during a late night performance a girl catches a flower from a hidden audience member and is told she is the prettiest girl on stage.
So many questions posed - but unfortunately never answered.
I love a film which encourages you to think, but sometimes it seems lazy to not offer any sort of explanation. You think back to the long scenes and try to think if you saw any clues as to the school's mission, but nothing comes to mind.
In a nutshell: Beautifully shot, lengthy scenes with some dark moments and an overall dark feel. This film ends though without satisfying your protective parental instincts about the girls. At least there is an upbeat scene at the end to stop it ending on a low.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Hypnotic
This is a hypnotic and fascinating tale of girls' innocence from first becoming aware of their bodies age six or seven to adolesence at about eleven or twelve. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter Francis
Estranging rather than enchanting
Half an hour and not into this film. Whats it meant to be about? Haven't got the foggiest.
Little girls running around dressed in white with pigtails in some obscure... Read more
Little girls running around dressed in white with pigtails in some obscure... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jan Mecir
Two hours of not a lot.
One of those films that leaves you feeling "that was it!?"
Lovely cinematography and quite a few great child actors but if you're looking for plot or entertainment, look... Read more
Lovely cinematography and quite a few great child actors but if you're looking for plot or entertainment, look... Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2008 by Gavin Morrice
Pseudo over substance?
Not quite sure whether I was supposed to be unsettled by this symbolism laden art flick, but I was. Not by the semi naked little girls frolicking in the lake but more by the... Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2008 by S. Rave
Haunting, marvellous, naturalistic, unique...
This is unlike most films you'll ever see. (Although it has some faint thematic echoes of Shyamalan's The Village. Read more
Published on 24 Sep 2008 by Chintan Nanavati
Takes time to get tuned to it, but is worth it
I admit that the first time I saw this movie, I turned the DVD off after about 20 minutes. I felt the movie was just too boring. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2008 by Andres C. Salama
Beautifully made but......
I think this film didn't quite work for me because I was expecting something else, something more menacing in the way of Calvaire. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2008 by Peaches
Seems to be rather pointless
Usually I don't mind a subtitled French film with an entirely female cast. But to me the film Innocence seems to be rather pointless. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2007 by Andrew Kerr
innocence
Innocence for me was a big let down. After reading some reviews I expected a very good film and for much of it this is what you get. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2006 by Glass-eye
Beautiful, but ultimately unfulfilling
I wouldn't say i 'enjoyed' this film, but it was intriguing, which drew me into the story. The cinematography is stunning, and the design of the concepts themselves merit a watch. Read more
Published on 16 July 2006 by treasureofgreatwhoop
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
