“Battlefield savagery, spiritual crises and sins of the world collide in this moving World War II docudrama. Just after the war’s end in Poland, Mathilde (rising starlet Lou de Laâge of 'The Wait'), a young French Red Cross doctor aiding wounded soldiers, is sought for help by the local nuns’ convent. Soviet troops, pushing west, traumatized several sisters with rape and pregnancy. They are also troubled by the fear that God will condemn their childbearing as a fall from grace. The cast portrays the characters with remarkable empathy. The fact-based script by Alice Vial and Sabrina B. Karine offer a compassionate exploration of the tensions between religious faith and medical science, Christianity’s consolations and its demands. Director Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel) and cinematographer Caroline Champetier convey a literal fear of hellfire in their use of blazing oil lamps in cold, darkened surroundings. Starring, directed, filmed and written by women, balancing agnostic intelligence and respect, this is one of the most compelling films about war in years." - Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
The Innocents
"Hope and horror are commingled to quietly moving effect in [The Innocents], a restrained but cumulatively powerful French-Polish drama about the various crises of faith that emerge when a house of God is ravaged by war." - Variety
Showtimes:
No screenings currently scheduled.
Directed by:
Anne Fontaine
Running Time:
115min
Country(ies):
France
Year:
2016
Language:
In French with English subtitles. Starring:
Lou de Laage, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza
Rated:
14A