Innocence  (2000) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski)

Innocence is a romantic drama which explores one of the least examined aspects of sexual love, that between senior citizens.

The two principals had been lovers 50 years earlier in Belgium. They remained in each other's memories as the true loves of their respective lives, but only as memories because they had not spoken or written in those fifty years. He, now a widower living in Australia, finds that she is living not very far away. He writes her, they get together, they fall in love all over again.

NUDITY REPORT
Kristien Van Pellicom was seen topless in flashbacks to their youth.

The script allows the relationship to develop as it might if this really happened. Yes, their love is tender and touching, and it is even sexual. It is moving to realize that such a love never fades. But life is much more complex than it was when they were young and fancy-free. They each have children now. Far more important, she has a husband to whom she has been married for 45 years, and hubby is understandably displeased with the recent events. Given the advanced ages of all concerned, there are the inevitable health complications. As it turns out, the male lover is dying of cancer, and the female has a severe heart condition.

DVD info from Amazon.

  • widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1.

Was it all worth it to create so much pain for the husband, given the short time they had together? The script offers no facile answers. It is more like a philosophical rumination about which questions they raised with their love, without ever really trying to supply solutions.

It is a gentle and affecting film which tries to stay within the boundaries of reality.

The Critics Vote

  • General USA consensus: three and a half stars. Ebert 4/4, Berardinelli 3/4

The People Vote ...

  • IMDB summary. Voting results: IMDb voters score it a near-classic 7.4/10
  • It grossed $2 million in the USA as a 50 screen niche product.
The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. (C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by genre fans, while C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie although genre addicts find it watchable). D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, B-. Not for the hardcore action fan, since it has none, but many people will enjoy its realistic, affecting treatment of the subject.

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