Marion Cotillard is playing Mademoiselle Eva
English title: Innocence

Directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic Written by Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Frank Wedekind (novela) Genre Drama / Mystery Tagline Theatrical Release France: 12/01/2005, UK: 30/09/2005, USA: 21/10/2005 DVD Release Starring Zoé Auclair, Alisson Lalieux, Joséphine Van Wambeke, Astrid Homme, Léa Bridarolli, Ana Palomo-Diaz, Bérangère Haubruge, Olga Peytavi-Müller, Marion Cotillard, Hélène Fougerolles

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Somewhere in a forest there is a school. Here, isolated from the rest of the world, young girls learn to dance and about natural science.

Marion Cotillard plays one of the teachers, Mademoiselle Eva. We know absolutely nothing about her and her actions or dialogue don't give us a clue either - e.g. she just starts crying one night. Surprisingly, she is still believable. But then, many things in the film are - it's only when you want to get them into the fuller picture that you realize how lost you are.

• Filming Locations:
• Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic chose Marion Cotillard and Hélène Fougerolles for the adult parts because she thought they looked like modern young women and yet both had a classic look about them, a bit like from another time, which corresponded well with the universe of the film. She also wanted them to be very pretty and feminine.
• Was shown at many Film Festivals: in Toronoto & London in 2004 and in 2005 in Adelaide, Hamburg, Istanbul, Karlovy Vary, Helsinki, Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Mexico City and Wisconsin amongst others.
• Won Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Now, if it weren't for Marion Cotillard I would have never watched this. It is an obscure and abstract piece of film - open for any sort of interpretation of what's really happening. There's a girl's school in the middle of the woods, surrounded by walls. The only entrance is through the secret underground floors and the girls arrive through it in tombs. Seven girls live in five different houses, following a strict schedule and ranking order. However, it all appears to be lovely and happy. The film is inspired by a novel about a Utopia (Mine-Haha written by Frank Wedekind in 1888), where education would focus on dancing etc.
by Maria