A future supernatural classic for you? Shown at The Alhambra as part of their Summer World Cinema season we thought The Innocents deserved another chance because not enough people saw it.
We start in "a pleasant, if featureless residential development in Romsås, Oslo, with 60s-style high-rise buildings near an artificial lake and picturesque woodland. Ida is a moody nine-year-old who resents her mum and dad paying so much attention to her elder sister Anna, who is autistic. As the long hot summer drags on, Ida is left to play outside, and tasked with looking after Anna. But Ida leaves her sister alone on the swings one day while she goes off with a new friend: a boy called Ben who shows her a strange mental trick he can do, making a bottle cap fly through the air without touching it. Meanwhile, Anna strikes up a friendship with a girl called Aisha, who has telepathic powers to match Ben's telekinesis...
"The Innocents’ is a nightmare unfolding in cold, clear daylight" – Peter Bradshaw, Guardian.
"A complex piece of storytelling, both visually and narratively." - Brian Tallerico, Rogerebert.com