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Anne Laurina Rao
MED 231
Australian Cinema

Innocence

2000

PART 1

Cast

Julia Blake -Claire
Charles Tingwell -Andreas Borg
Terry Norris -John
Robert Menzies -David
Chris Haywood -Minister
Norman Kaye -Gerald
Joey Kennedy -Sally
Kristine van Pellicom -Young Claire
Kenny Aernouts -Young Andreas
Martha Dusseldorp -Monique
Liz Windsor -Maudie

Production Credits

Paul Cox -Director/Producer/Screenwriter
Mark Patterson -Producer
Tony Clark -Cinematographer
Paul Grabowsky -Composer (Music Score)
William Marshall -Executive Producer
Willem Thijssen -Assistant Director
Craig Carter -Sound/Sound Designer
James Currie -Sound Recordist
Simon Whitington -Editor

(imdb.com)

Release Dates
Innocence (2000)

Country Date
France May 2000 (Cannes Film Festival)
Canada 8 September 2000 (Toronto Film Festival)
UK 25 October 2000 (Raindance Film Festival)
Australia 21 December 2000
New Zealand 26 December 2000
Philippines 7 March 2001
Japan 17 March 2001 (Tokyo)
Argentina 7 June 2001
USA 17 August 2001 (New York City, New York)
Spain 9 November 2001
Germany 17 January 2002
Colombia 12 April 2002
Netherlands 23 May 2002
Italy 28 June 2002
UK 3 July 2002 (Commonwealth Film Festival)
Norway 31 July 2002 (video premiere)
Greece 13 September 2002
Poland 6 December 2002
UK 9 January 2003
Malaysia 13 February 2003 (limited)
France 30 July 2003
Sweden 18 January 2005 (TV premiere)

(imdb.com)

Release date on DVD

Dec 10, 2002

Released By

Sharmill (AU)

Running Time

92 Minutes

Produced By

Cinemedia/ CineTe/ Illumination Films/ New Oz Productions/ Showtime Australia/ South Australia Film Corporation/ Strand Releasing

(allmovie.com)

Box Office Figures

Opening Weekend

$20,707 (USA) (19 August 2001) (2 Screens)

Gross

$2,194,919 (USA) (20 January 2002)

Awards and Critical Recognition

• Montreal World Film Festival: People's Choice Award Official Competition : Grand Prix of the Americas (Best Film)- Shared
• Taormina International Film Festival: Fipresci Prize
• Toronto International Film Festival: Third place- Benson&Hedges Film People's Choice Award
• Saint Tropez Film Festival: Cinema deAntipodes: Best Film in Competition
• Independent Filmmakers Awards: Best Visual Design/Editing- Simon Whitington; Best Sound Design-James Currie, Craig Carter; Best Feature- Paul Cox, Mark Patterson; Independent Filmmaker of the year- Paul Cox
• New Zealand Film Festival
• Telluride Film Festival
• Vancouver International Film Festival
• Chicago International Film Festival
• Flanders International Film Festival
• Raindance Film Festival
• The Hamptons International Film Festival
• Festival DU Cinema International En Abitibi-Temiscaminque
• Fort Lauder International Film Festival
• AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival
• Best Actress- Julia Blake
• Best Supporting Actor- Terry Norris

www.afc.gov.au/downloads/policies/boxoffice.pdf

Interview with Paul Cox

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/jan2001/pcox-j06.shtml

Reviews
Read New York Times Review
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=206902

Read The Wolf's Review
http://www.iofilm.co.uk/fm/i/innocence_2000.shtml

Read Ozus' World Review
http://www.sover.net/~ozus/innocence.htm

Read New Zealand Herald Review
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=166194

Read TV Guide Review
http://www.tvguide.com/movies/database/ShowMovie.asp?MI=43104

Read E-Online Review
http://www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Movies/Reviews/0,1052,84209,00.html

47TH Sydney Film Festival
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mmasprey/Festival%202000.html

Read World Socialist Website Review
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jul2000/sff3-j11.shtml

Read DVD Review
http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/showreview.php3?ID=4259

Online Presence
My main source of information on Innocence was from the Internet. Most of the information I got were from www.imdb.com, www.allmovie.com, www.google.com and www.yahoomovies.com . The information I obtained from these websites were mostly reviews from newspaper articles and journals.
I only managed to find 1 interview with Paul Cox, who is the director/producer and screenwriter of this movie.
The website was useful in providing information about the film and news on the response to the film.
Innocence was released on DVD in 2002 and in my opinion; this is one of the reasons why there are many reviews on the Internet.

PART 2

Synopsis

Retired music teacher Andreas discovers that his first love Claire lives in the same Melbourne neighborhood. Both Andreas and Claire were lovers in Belgium during World War 2. Andreas is a widower and Claire is happily though not passionately married to John. Andreas and Claire finds that they still have feelings for each after all these years and they begin a love affair which is disapproved by their loved ones.

My Review

I found this movie rather touching, reason being we hardly see romance movies that has senior citizens as lead characters. Most romance movies have younger couples as lead characters because most of the movie-goers are the younger generation who are not interested in seeing a love story between old couples.

In my opinion, Claire is in need of the love she had lost many years ago. She believes that Andreas is the only man she has ever loved and she tries and fights her way to be with him.
The difference between this movie and others is if this was a love story between younger couples, I would think it would contain more violence and abusive words because of the thought that Claire was leaving her husband, John for Andreas. In any other typical love story gone bad, the husband would be furious and would create a seen when he sees his wife with another man, however when John sees Claire with Andreas, he is furious but does not create a scene in the restaurant. From this, we are able to see how the older generation approach a problem compared to how the younger generation would.

The movie shows that Claire and Andreas are honest with their feelings for each other, because they told their family about their feelings for each other. They know that they are old, and there was no use lying to people about their feelings. Another reason why I feel they told their family about each other is because they knew that there wasn't much time left for the both of them, and they wanted to make the best of it.

Flashbacks of the past (Belgium) shows us that they were very much in love in the past and it shows us the things they do in their daily life, lets them reflect back on their past For example when Claire is standing in front of the mirror, she sees herself in the past, younger, standing exactly at the same place and looking at her reflection in the mirror.

In my opinion, when Andreas came back into Claire's life, Claire started showing that she was in control of her life after her 45 year marriage to John. She became determined to be with the man she loves even though she had a husband and son.

In conclusion, I think this movie is unique in a sense, not many producers would produce a movie like this because it does not appeal to a wide audience. However, after watching this movie, it made me realize that love can happen at any age and it never dies.

Film Production

This movie was filmed in South Australia and the flashbacks were filmed in Belgium. It took over five weeks to complete the movie. (www.yahoomovies.com)

The US Box office expectations for this film is low because most movie goers are not interested in watching a love story featuring senior citizens (James Berardinelli, http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/i/innocence.html)

Critical Uptake

There were some good reviews and bad reviews on the movie Innocence, 2000.

'Innocence is honest in trying to look at love that won't fade and its relationship to undiminished hope. The movie is like the great scene in 'Citizen Kane' in which Everett Sloane talks about a beautiful girl who caught his attention decade's earlier (nytimes.com)
In my opinion, this movie shows that they are people who really do believe in love and would do anything to be with the person they love.

Critics said that the movie promises much but delivers distressingly little (nzherald.co.nz)
I feel the reason why the critics said this is because at the end, Claire dies and the two men are left with nothing. It was suspense for the audience to see who she ends up choosing because she kept contemplating whether she was doing the right thing by getting with Andreas and leaving John. However, it did not happen.

"…it's not about stars, not about a plot, bout about sex, not about nudity, but about love itself" (rogerebert.com)
If this movie was about stars, nudity and sex, they would not have taken senior citizens as lead characters because it would not appeal to the audience.

"…explore the true nature of love without populating the screens with hunks and bunnies" (Jam! Movies)
Most love movies are lead by young handsome men and beautiful young girls in love, however in this movie, it shows the purity of love and how a person is given a second chance to love again.

Innocence reminds us that past lovers, like sleeping dogs, are best left alone (villagevoice.com)
In my opinion, the reason why critics touched on this matter is because Claire was already old and she did not have to put herself through the stress she went through. Claire mentioned in the movie that if she and Andreas hadn't met, they would have just gone on with their daily lives until it was time for them to go.

A disquieting, complex study of memory, love and obsession (Eopinions.com)
This movie reflects back a lot on the couples past memories. Claire at the beginning was reluctant to meet up with Andreas for the second time but she kept getting flashbacks of the past which made her agree to see Andreas and fall in love with him again.

Most of the critics commented on Paul Cox's uniqueness and differences from other types of movies. Richard Phillips talked about Paul Cox's decision to explore emotional issues confronting old people- their sexuality, their passion and their complex fear and doubts (World Socialist Website). He also said that Paul Cox challenges the usual cinematic clinches which shows the elderly as being a sort of entertainment or sympathy with few emotional.

Prior Work/Filmography

Paul Cox (Director)

Matuta (1965)
Time past (1966)
Skindeep (1968)
Marcel (1969)
Symphony (1969)
Inside Looking Out (1977)
For a Child Called Michael (1979)
Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh (1987)
A Woman's Tale (1991)
Innocence (2000)
The Diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky (2001)
Human Touch (2004)

http://www.innersense.com.au/mif/cox.html

Mark Patterson (Producer)

Human Touch (2004) (producer)
Dope (2003) (producer)
Innocence (2000) (producer)

Tony Clark (Cinematography)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (post-production) (digital effects supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures)
Man-Thing (2005) (visual effects supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) (visual effects supervisor: Rising Sun Pictures)

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001) (visual effects supervisor)

Cut (2000) (visual effects supervisor)
In a Savage Land (1999) (visual effects supervisor)

Julia Blake (Actress)

Human Touch (2004).... Mother
'Salem's Lot (2004) (TV) .... Eva Prunier
The Forest (2003/I).... Margot
Innocence (2000).... Claire
"A Difficult Woman" (1998) (mini) TV Series.... Mrs. McKenzie
Hotel de Love (1996).... Edith Dunne
The Thorn Birds: The Missing Years (1996) (TV).... Fee Cleary
Mushrooms (1995).... Flo
Father (1989/I).... Iya Zetnick
Georgia (1988).... Elizabeth
Edens Lost (1988) (TV).... Eve
"Sword of Honour" (1986) (mini) TV Series … Jean Rogers

Charles Tingwell (Actor)

Irresistible (2005) (post-production)
Human Touch (2004).... Step-father
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis (2003) (VG).... Hammond
Ned Kelly (2003).... Premier Berry…aka Ned Kelly: Public Enemy No. 1 (Philippines: English title: poster title)

The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular (2003) (TV).... John Conroy
The Inside Story (2002).... Edward Brooks
"Something in the Air" (2000) TV Series.... William Taylor (2001)
"Changi" (2001) (mini) TV Series.... Older David Collins
WillFull (2001).... Martin
The Dish (2000).... Reverend Loftus
Innocence (2000).... Andreas Borg
On the Beach (2000) (TV) (as Charles Tingwell).... Professor Alan Nordstrum
The Wog Boy (2000).... Mr. Walker
"Thunderstone" (1999) TV Series.... (1999)
The Craic (1999).... Farmer

(imdb.com)

Australian Film and Its Value
Most of the Australian films are about: Australia, for example Crocodile Dundee which is filmed in the dessert and associates itself with the wild life in Australia. Another example is the movie Ned Kelly, who is a legend and a myth in Australia.

In my opinion, the movie Innocence is unique because it is a love story between an old couple. The movie turned out to be successful because of the effect it had on people. This movie was released in many countries in Europe, Asia, US and UK.

The flashback in the movie shows us how deeply they were in love with each other and the things they used together 40 over years. Innocence is shown to be an Australian movie because it is different than any Hollywood love story. It does not contain violence when faced with dissatisfaction.

The movie shows the Australian way of life with its peace and quiet surroundings, unlike Hollywood movies which contains the busy city life. In one of the scenes, it shows Claire and Andreas having a picnic by the river which is common, in the country side of Australia.

In order to keep up to date with current movies, Australian films tend to get deep and intimate. For example in this movie, it shows that love leads to sex and not sex to love (rogerbert.com). It emphasizes on the love they have which leads them to comforting each other in a more intimate way. For example when Andreas wife's body was being removed from the cemetery, Claire was there to comfort him in an intimate way.
By having this difference, Australian films looks at romance in a different way to impress a wider audience. Even though Australian film is not popular in the US or Europe, it contributes to the film industry with its differences and uniqueness.

"One of the director's finest achievements…. A profound meditation on love, life and morality that alone justifies why we still make films in this country (Lydan Barber, The Australia)

Type of Genre

This movie falls under the Melodrama genre. There a 2 definition for melodrama; a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and exaggerates emotions and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization and a romantic dramatic composition with music interspersed (factmonster.com)

'The climax of the film is accompanied by a thrilling musical score that lifts the characters to a sublime metaphysical level' (The Ojai Film Society, LINK IT)
In this movie, the flashbacks are played with a certain type of music which is soothing to illustrate a calm feeling and to bring them back to the past when they were young lovers.

Innocence is a movie which contains a variety of emotions and through Claire's facial expression; we are able to identify the specific characteristics and emotions which she goes through.

There were a few jokes in the film which made me laugh but I do not feel that it falls in the Comedy genre. I feel the reason the jokes were told was to add a bit of laughter to the movie, because it would have been too dull if only talked about love.

Referencing
• Richard Phillips, 2000, As sympathetic look at the complexities of old age. Available from http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/jul2000/sff3-j11.shtml [Accessed on April 20th 2005]
• James Berardinelli, Innocence. Available from http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/i/innocence.html [Accessed on April 19th 2005]
• IMDb, Innocence. Available from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0251141/ [Accessed on April 19th 2005]
• All Movie Guide, Innocence. Available from http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=A206902 [Accessed on April 20th 2005]
• Fact Monster Dictionary. Available from www.askjeeves.com [Accessed Daily]