Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival January 26,2016
a Anne Fontaine film
Plot (Spoiler Alert)
Taking place in Warsaw, as the second World War is about to end, a nun asks a Red Cross doctor, Mathilde Beaulieu, for help. There are 35 nuns living in a building out in a forest in Poland and many are expecting babies. They were raped by Soviet soldiers and got pregnant. Mathilde helps deliver those babies.
Blaine: “The Innocents” is based on a true story and the doctor’s real name was Madeleine Pauliac. Filmmaker Anne Fontaine discovered who Madeleine Pauliac was through a diary. Madeleine Pauliac wrote down her story about discovering nuns who were pregnant and how she helped them. She didn’t write all the details to her story, but Anne Fontaine thought it was an inspirational story. Madeleine Pauliac’s life didn’t last that long. It ended too soon shortly after the War was over. Anne wanted to adapt Madeleine’s story into a film, but it had to be something that touched you from the heart. Anne got together with other screenwriters, Sabrina B. Karine, Pascal Bonitzer and Alice Vial, and their goal was to write something that needed to feel powerful. Anne also wanted to go deep into the souls of these women. The diary didn’t really describe the nuns personalities, so Anne and her team had to think about what type of people they should be in the story.
Anne is not religious, so she doesn’t know much about the Christian faith. She wanted to know what life looks like for a nun. Anne spent time with nuns to see how they live life every day to help her, not just with the screenplay, but to help her with her vision as well.
Anne thought it would be best not to show any violence in the film. She wanted to avoid that. “The Innocents” is more about people than war, even though it takes place during the second World War.
Another thing Anne and the other screenwriters had to figure out was how nuns and an atheist could work together. That’s the only difference basically between Dr. Mathilde and the nuns. They have some things in common, like having feelings and caring for others. However, Mother Superior, the head nun, is not too big on having Dr. Mathilde around because her ways are different, but she allows her company. The other nuns think Mathilde is the best thing that has happened to them. They know she’s an atheist, but they can tell she has a soul because she has been there for them. Soldiers show up at the nuns’ place one day believing they are hiding the enemy, when really they’re not. Mathilde scares them off by saying there’s an infection, know as Typhus, spreading the place. Mathilde Beaulieu is a saint to the nuns and she grows a bond with them.
Anne Fontaine felt lucky to have gotten very talented actresses to be involved with the project. They bring so much emotion and power into their performances. Anne went to Poland and there’s a lot of very skilled actresses there. The first actress to get hired was Agata Buzek after the producer recommended one of Agata’s films to Anne. It was an action movie called “Redemption" and Anne was asking why the producer would recommend an actress from an action movie to be in an emotional drama involving nuns. But Agata Buzek showed Anne what she is made of when the two met each other and Anne couldn’t believe she doubted her. Anne was starting to see Agata Buzek as Sister Maria after that performance.
Sister Maria is one of the few nuns who is close to Mathilde. Sister Maria has had problems for what the nuns have been through. Mathilde is there to listen to Sister Maria and Mathilde can feel Maria’s pain just from listening to the details. Mathilde is very understanding to Sister Maria. And it’s nice for Sister Maria to talk about her problems to someone. Sister Maria tends to disappoint Mother Mere by helping Mathilde. Sister Maria doesn’t want to upset Mother Mere, but she feels Mathilde is the answer to their prayers.
Agata Kuleszka wanted to try out for the role of Mother Superior, but Anne wasn’t sure if she was right for the part because she thought of the character as being older compared to Agata Kuleszka’s age. But Agata wouldn’t take no for answer until after she was tested out. Agata Kuleszka is a professional at what she does. She takes the work seriously and she believes she can play any role. Agata put on a performance in front of Anne and she became someone completely new. Anne was really blown away and that’s how Agata Kuleszka won the part. This isn’t the first film Agata Kuleszka has been apart of a film that involves nuns. She was in “Ida” a couple years earlier and she would hang around a nun in that film. This time, Agata got to be a nun.
Anne said it was rare during that period, for a female to be a doctor. Anne wanted Mathilde to feel like a one of a kind person. She may not believe in God, but she does believe in saving lives, and that’s her purpose in life. And she knows what she is doing. The nuns even enjoy Mathilde's company. She’s easy to like for them. Mathilde is strong in spirit and has a heart of gold.
Anne looked in her own home country of France to find an actress to play Mathilde because Mathilde is French. Anne found Lou de Laage interesting when she met her. Lou had a timeless face, which made it easy for Anne to imagine her in the year 1945. Lou too is a professional at what she does. She devotes herself to acting because it’s her life. Lou has worked hard to become an actress and she has taken on a lot of roles. A lot of them were parts that matched her age, but the role of Mathilde Beaulieu required a more adult personality. Mathilde is young, but she has a lot of responsibilities for someone at her age. Although she does attend to disobey orders, but at a good cost and that is to help people in need.
Other actresses who were chosen to be apart of “The Innocents" were Joanna Kulig from “Cold War” as Sister Irena and Anna Prochniak from “Warsaw 44” as Zofia, the first pregnant nun you see in the film. Sister Irena is the type who is full of life inside, even though she was raped by a Soviet soldier and got pregnant. It cost her to lose some of her faith, but she stays strong in life. She tells Mathilde that she met a nice man, who she hopes to have a life with. Mathilde is always the person to talk to about things you want to get off your mind. Sister Irena loves Mathilde and I think of their relationship as being something like sisters.
Another familiar face in “The Innocents" is Marta Mazurek from “The Lure”, although her part isn’t that big. She plays a nun, but she’s more of an extra than a main character.
Vincent Macaigne is the only main actor in “The Innocents” who is a male. He plays Mathilde’s trusted co-worker Dr. Samuel. Like Mathilde, Samuel cares about the lives he saves and he’s a sweet man. Even when he’s a little drunk, he can be sweet. Two nuns are about to give birth at the same time, and Mathilde brings Samuel along to help. Mother Superior disappointment continues to grow when another doctor arrives. But Samuel can be trusted and again, he cares. That’s why he’s a doctor.
Anne would discuss the scenes with her actresses everyday in order to make them feel powerful. Anne would re-write and improve some of the dialog. The actors had to go deep into their characters because they show the heart of the story. People on set would get emotional from shooting those scenes and it proved to them that they were getting the job done right and fulfilling their goal in making a movie that can touch you deeply.
The camera loves what it sees out of these performances. It makes the moving images you see strong.
“The Innocents” is a Foreign film with three different languages in it, Polish, French and Russian. French and Polish are the main languages of the film.
Mathilde Beaulieu is French and the nuns are Polish, although some nuns speak French, so they can translate for Mathilde.
Russian is used for a scene where Mathilde Beaulieu comes across Soviet soldiers. They nearly rape her as they did with the nuns, but one soldier stops them and lets Mathilde go. It’s not safe for Mathilde to cross right now, so she spends the night with the nuns. Mathilde wakes up the next morning, hearing the nuns sing, and even though she isn’t religious, still she is happy that there is some peace in this world while a war is going on.
Zofia’s background is her parents kicked her out and she has been training to become a nun, but then she got pregnant after being raped and was the first to go into labor.
Zofia couldn’t keep the baby, due to her being a nun. Mother Superior had to give it away and it is said she put the baby in the hands of Zofia’s aunt.
One of the other nuns gives birth and she doesn’t want the baby. Zofia looks after it before Mother Superior finds a home for it. Zofia gets attached to the baby fast and loves the child as if she is her own. And she shares something in common with it, which is being abandoned by your own blood. But them the time comes when Mother Superior has to take the child away. Zofia doesn’t want to say goodbye to the child. She wants to look after the baby. It devastates Zofia that the baby is gone and causes her to take her own life. Everyone is sad for their loss, including Mathilde. They all loved her.
Sister Maria feels she should tell Zofia’s aunt the news. Sister Maria also asks about Zofia’s baby, but the aunt was never aware Zofia had a child. Everyone was informed that Mother Superior had given those babies a home, but Sister Maria discovers she has been lying the entire time. Mother Superior has been abandoning them in the forest, believing they’ll find their way to God. Sister Maria thought she knew Mother Superior and trusted her, but now she sees she is guilty and guilt does haunt Mother Superior everyday. Sister Maria never liked to disobey Mother Superior, but now that she knows the truth, she is not afraid to speak up against her.
With the war almost over, the doctors are preparing to leave Warsaw and return to their homes. Sister Maria manages to catch Mathilde before she leaves. Mathilde is the only one Sister Maria can trust. Sister Maria shows up with Sister Anna and newborn babies. Sister Maria knows those babies are not safe around Mother Superior.
Orphans have been hanging around outside the area Mathilde works at and Mathilde has been asking herself what happens to them, now that the war is over. Mathilde feels the nuns should take them in, along with the babies. Sister Maria could not agree with Mathilde more. Sister Maria is more than happy to have Mathilde as a friend. Mathilde and Sister Maria announce the idea to the other nuns and Mother Superior confesses what she has done because she can not lie anymore. Lying hurts her just much as leaving a baby for dead.
Sister Anna and Sister Irena resign as nuns, wanting to start new lives for themselves. Anna wasn’t planning to be a mother in life, but looking at her baby after he is born makes her realize how important he is to her, but that doesn’t mean she won’t give up on God. She knows God will guide her. Anna also loves the feeling of being a mother.
And Irena, she was already planning to resign before giving birth. Her goal was to be re-united with that man she met a while back. She believes he is the love of her life. Irena leaves her baby behind, not because she doesn’t love it, but feeling she isn’t good enough for motherhood. Irena knows what she is doing. She knows her baby will be in good hands, instead of being left out in the forest, now that things are changing.
Things looked gloomy through the entire film, but with the war over, things are looking brighter. Running an orphanage is really working out for the nuns. However, Mother Superior is still ashamed of herself for what she has done. Maybe one day she will find peace again. The nuns keep in contact with Mathilde to let her know how things are and how thankful they are to her. Mathilde Beaulieu will always be with those nuns in their hearts because she was there for them and also she helped changed things for the nuns by having them run an orphanage. The nuns are special to Mathilde Beaulieu, just as much as she is to them. And she is so pleased that she could be of help to them. It gives her so much joy. It moves Mathilde as she reads the kind words Sister Maria wrote in her letter. And I think at the end, Mathilde is starting to realize that she does believe in something more.
My rating on “The Innocents” is five out of five stars
