Film review: 'The Innocents'

"The Innocents" is a disturbing film that examines the grim casualties of war. It's based on actual events that took place in 1945 war-ravaged Poland as the French Red Cross was helping Holocaust survivors. 

A young medic, Mathilde (Lou de Laage), is persuaded to accompany a nun to her convent to treat an emergency. She arrives to discover a nun in labor. After delivering the child, she is shocked to learn that there are six more nuns on the verge of giving birth. As the Russians were liberating, they were also raping.

Although Mathilde wants desperately to help the sisters, Mother Superior demands that the situation at the convent remains a secret. But as the the babies begin arriving, what's to be done with them? Innocent children, violently conceived, have destroyed the vow of chastity. In her warped perception of the dire dilemma, Mother Superior takes drastic measures on order to maintain secrecy.

"The Innocents" is about questioning one's faith, given horrific circumstances. The nuns truly believe that they will go to hell for what happened to them. Mathilde cannot comprehend the concept and has numerous faith-based, as well as philosophical conversations with the young nuns. As a result, she devises a plan that can help the convent save face. But can its occupants?

Director Anne Fontaine ("Coco Before Chanel") has managed to create a beautiful film aside from the shocking subject matter. The cinematography is exquisite, and yet stark. Black habits set against the wooded, white, snow-covered ground bring a tranquility to the mood of "The Innocents." Angelical a cappella singing bouncing off the hollow walls of the convent provides an inner peace that reflects hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

At one point in the film, Mathilde is stopped at a Russian checkpoint and ordered to get out of her vehicle. She's nearly gang-raped until an officer intervenes. War reduces human beings to their lowest common denominator. Pious or evil, no one is innocent.