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allan-marsden
Reviews
Innocence (2004)
No Exploding Helicopters
This is an important point. If films which contain exploding helicopters appeal to you, this is unlikely to be a film you'll enjoy.
If, on the other hand, you enjoy long dreamy ramblings in a surreal landscape with at best hints of plot (beyond the obvious), and meaning so obliquely referenced that you can make up your own version and no-one can contradict you, then this is the film for you.
It's one of my all-time favourites. The cinematography - particularly of the woods and lake around the 'school' is awesome. The world the director creates is one you can immerse yourself in, incredibly oppressive while at the same time magically free.
The film isn't problem-free. As others have mentioned, it can be quite slow at times, but once you have immersed yourself in the world of the film, this can seem almost a blessing rather than a failing - I suspect there is also a deliberate narrative intent in the slowness as representative of what is being portrayed, but that could be just me.
As a man, I had initial problems with the semi-nudity of female infants, but let it go and it became irrelevant other than in terms of what it meant (or probably meant) in the film.
The ending is certainly a sharp transition away from the claustrophobia of what went before, but equally obviously that was intentional.
At a simplistic level, what appears to be the plot is both obvious and sometimes (such as at the ending) appears to be rammed down your throat a bit. However, if you simply forget about plot and enjoy the imagery and symbolism the film is exquisite.
I would recommend this film to anyone who doesn't enjoy Hollywood films. Years later, it still haunts me.
The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Key scene
A great film, with the richness of texture we have come to expect from Greenaway, but in a context - the medieval church and court - which better suits this richness than some of his earlier offerings. Looking through the comments on this film, I am surprised that no-one has picked up on the pivotal nature of one specific scene in the film, that in which the girl tries to seduce the Bishop's son in the 'stable', against the wishes of the child. This scene to me is the heart of the tragedy which is the principal plot line of the film, and is excellently put together and acted. As such, it is far more important than the rape scene, which is merely an acting-out of the inevitable consequences of the split between the girl and the child, and is less significant than, for instance, the dismemberment of the child. I'd also just like to say how well the device of the separate voice for the child works for me.