Nevinnost

In the first decade of his directing career, Hřebejk aroused expectations and with at least two titles, he managed to tune in to the needs of Czech society to reconcile so that the wolf would be fed and the goat would remain whole, along with recent history. In later times, his work instead caused doubts. He acts as a shooter suffering from conjunctivitis, so he relies on his instincts and blindly fires. Maybe it will work out. In the context of this trend, Innocence is relatively passable, but in no way good. It is decently directed, and even Geislerová performs decently, but two stories in one are too much. I would have been content with one criminal case seen through to its end, where it would be about a broader statement about the time and society, and where I wouldn't feel constructiveness, greed, and creative helplessness. I will leave three stars because as part of Czech contemporary production, it is still above average, but I won't raise my overall impression above 50%. (21.11.2019)

Like plucking the petals of a daisy: “I liked it, I liked it not, I liked it, I liked it not…“. On the positive side, I should consider only the fact that, whereas I want to immediately forget about other Czech films, I still have to think about Innocence a day after seeing it. In my opinion, the stylistic contamination in the final third of the film is justified by the transition from a dispassionate detective investigation to a subjective narrative. The film belatedly gets its narrator and information about his past is conveyed to us as quickly as possible. The imposition of a personal point of view is the first dirty trick perpetrated against the viewer, whose sympathies for the person confessing are subsequently destroyed by that person’s dubious actions. Was it a plan or a confluence of coincidences? Inconsistency. The first one freed the innocent with her body, the second one made accusations. Not only the sins are similar, but so are the causes. Indifference. The narrative strangeness of Innocence, which particularly gives rise to strongly ambivalent feelings at the end (the roles of the guilty and the victim contradict how they were presented in the film), is significantly more inspiring than the shallow social-criticism level, the disturbingly conspicuous framework of the screenplay and the inconsistent integration of the characters into the plot (if the mentally disabled son was supposed to represent unassailable innocence, why does he completely disappear from the scene toward the end?). Innocence is a problematic film with a lot of flaws, but it deserves attention. 75% (13.07.2014)

While I don’t like comparing, a comparison with the Scandinavian movie The Hunt is at hand. It concerns a similar topic – the abuse of children. In this movie Jan Hřebejk really dug into it and the first half was flawless. Ondřej Vetchý, Anna Linhartová and Hynek Čermák showed really incredible acting performances. However, as soon as this part of the movie unexpectedly quickly closed, Aňa Geislerová entered the scene with the craziest character I’ve ever seen her play on TV and the whole movie suddenly entered a completely different dimension. I am not saying it was bad, I just think that these two ideas could easily function in two movies. And not just in one. (10.01.2016)

Another provincial attempt at a complex psychological family drama that at times looks quite worldly, but this impression is confined to a fairly well thought out surface again. It continues to amaze me how many narrative means Hřebejk and Jarchovský are capable of using to produce stories that are so barren, sterile and genderless in terms of any urgency and opinion. Am I to think that Innocence isn't entirely embarrassing, that the actors are good and that modern storytelling means are used here? The more the creative helplessness, blandness and lack of captivating rhythm stand out. For God's sake, when is there going to be anything that's been able to compete with at least a mediocre Scandinavian drama about pathological phenomena in society? (24.01.2011)

The idea of family dialogues and sweet-natured atmosphere is deeply rooted within me. So deeply rooted, that I would never attribute Innocence to the creative duo Hřebejk-Jarchovský. The script of the latter transforms from an innocent melodrama into a complex relationship-tragic fresco, where every dialogue has its firm place and no character appears in it just because. The trailer’s temptation of the Czech Lolita suddenly seems very misleading. Moreover, the way the story reveals its true nature is unprecedented in Czech circumstances. Hřebejk himself does not drag down the script with any usual softening, his perspective is exceptionally accurate this time in a suffocating image that emphasizes an unusually personal approach to the characters. In combination with excellent performances (led by the traditionally infallible Ondřej Vetchý and perfectly suited Hynek Čermák, who seems to be tailor-made for his role), this is a minor domestic film event that has quietly and unobtrusively arrived in cinemas, but now it can grow even more. 85% for a drama that only few would dare to attempt. (13.01.2011)