As I settled in to watch The Innocents at a private screening, I was aware of some initial defensiveness, expecting an onslaught of the kind of anti-Catholic bias so prevalent in contemporary culture. But it didn’t come. This is not a film that preaches or tries to manipulate emotions. Instead, it embraces mystery, by raising questions rather than trying to answer them. It portrays both religious faith and the lack of faith with deep respect. This is its quiet power.
The Innocents is an illustration of truth shining through paradox. Expectations are reversed: A woman of faith despairs, a woman of no faith experiences hope. We see the awful injustice of nuns being shamed and rejected by family members because they were raped. We see too the perilous scrupulosity of some of the sisters who believe that even submitting to a gynecological exam is sinful (one of them becomes hysterical, crying that she doesn’t want to go to hell). But by refusing to submit they put their own and their unborn child’s life at risk. It is Mathilde who advocates for the babies, without sentimentality—there are lives to be saved, and she is a doctor. And yet, it is Mathilde whose face gently lights up as she ministers to the newborns.
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