Innocence (2004 film)
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Lucile Hadžihalilović |
| Produced by | Patrick Sobelman |
| Screenplay by | Lucile Hadžihalilović |
| Based on |
Mine-Haha, or On the Bodily Education of Young Girls by Frank Wedekind |
| Starring | Zoé Auclair Bérangère Haubruge Lea Bridaroslli Marion Cotillard |
| Music by | Richard Cooke |
| Cinematography | Benoît Debie |
| Edited by | Adam Finch |
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| Distributed by | Mars Distribution |
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Running time
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120 minutes |
| Country | France Belgium Japan United Kingdom |
| Language | French |
Innocence is a 2004 French mystery drama film written and directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović, inspired by the novella Mine-Haha, or On the Bodily Education of Young Girls by Frank Wedekind, and starring Marion Cotillard. The film follows a year in the life of the girls in the third dormitory at a secluded boarding school, where new students arrive in coffins.
After a series of images of rushing water, forest, and dark, empty subterranean hallways, six-year-old Iris arrives in a coffin placed in the dormitory's common area, where she is met with curiosity by the other six girls of the house. After grooming and dressing her, they all exchange hair ribbons with each other - each girl gets the ribbons passed down from the girl a year above her. Iris, the new youngest "red ribbon", excites the ire of Selma, the former red ribbon, who complains about absence of the former violet-ribbon Natacha—the oldest who had been her friend. The new violet ribbon, Bianca, takes Iris under her wing. At first Iris is homesick, and believes that she will be reunited with her brother, but Bianca matter-of-factly tells her there is no possibility of that: there are no boys allowed. All of the girls in the school go swimming, and Iris quickly befriends Laura, the red-ribbon of another house. That night, much to Iris's dismay, Bianca leaves on an authorized mysterious errand that she cannot discuss. The next day, Iris has a routine day at the school - dance lessons, classroom time with animals, and recreation. The classes at the school are run by two young women: Mademoiselle Edith, who walks with a cane and teaches lessons, and Mademoiselle Eva, who teaches dance. Each house is cared for by an elderly serving woman; the girls whisper that all of the employees are girls who tried to escape the walled school in their youth, and were pressed into permanent service as punishment.
One night, Iris follows Bianca on her secret errand, but she loses track of the older girl once she reaches the main building. She explores, but only stumbles across more she does not understand: a shadowy man preparing an injection for a shadowy woman. She flees, and is lost in the woods for the night. After a period of smoldering animosity, Selma makes overtures to befriend Iris, but then beats her with a switch (stem) when Iris asks about Bianca's nightly departures. Selma also uses her fingertip, touching Iris's wound, to gingerly taste Iris's blood. As time passes, Laura, unlike Iris, is morose and unable to adapt to life at the school. With Iris's help - and a pledge of secrecy - she steals a rowboat in an attempt to escape, but drowns. A distressed Iris tells Bianca nonetheless. The school holds a funeral, where Laura's coffin is burned on a pyre.
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