Wikipedia

The Innocence (film)

The Innocence (Catalan: La innocència) is a 2019 Spanish drama film directed by Lucía Alemany (in her feature film debut), starring Carmen Arrufat alongside Laia Marull, Sergi López, and Joel Bosqued.[1][2][3]

The Innocence
Theatrical release poster
CatalanLa innocència
Directed byLucía Alemany
Written by
  • Laia Soler
  • Lucía Alemany
Produced by
  • Lina Badenes
  • Juan Gordon
  • Belén Sánchez
Starring
CinematographyJoan Bordera
Edited byJuliana Montañés
Music byÒscar Senén
Production
companies
  • Turanga Films
  • Un Capricho de Producciones
  • Lagarto Films
Distributed byFilmax
Release dates
  • 23 September 2019 (2019-09-23) (SSIFF)
  • 10 January 2020 (2020-01-10) (Spain)
Running time
92 minutes
CountrySpain
Languages
  • Catalan
  • Spanish

The film was nominated for two Goya Awards.[4]

Plot

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Set in a rural area of the province of Castellón,[5] the plot deals about the dilemma of abortion faced by Lis, a teenager who has an unwanted pregnancy imperiling her dreams of becoming a circus artist.[6]

Cast

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Production

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The film was produced by Turanga Films, Un Capricho de Producciones, and Lagarto Films, with additional backing from IVC, ICEC, À Punt, TV3, Movistar Plus+ and ECAM's La Incubadora.[8]

Director-screenwriter Alemany had an abortion when she was 17 and was raised in Traiguera, the main shooting location for the film.[6]

Themes

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Female perspective in cinema

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Director Lucía Alemany has described The Innocence as a film that could "only have been made by a woman," highlighting its focus on intimate female relationships and lived experience.[9] In an interview with eCartelera, she positioned the film within a broader wave of contemporary Spanish cinema made by women, such as Summer 1993 by Carla Simón and Journey to a Mother's Room by Celia Rico Clavellino. These works, she argued, offer narratives shaped by a specifically female gaze, particularly in their exploration of mother–daughter dynamics: "She’s the one who gave you life, you’ve been in her womb for nine months and she’s passed everything on to you, her fears and phobias… Healing that relationship is important — otherwise, your life feels a bit blocked."[10]

Adolescence and embodiment

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A central theme of the film is the transition from girlhood to womanhood, especially as experienced in a small, conservative town. Alemany portrays the physical and emotional shifts of adolescence in a candid and non-idealised manner. She noted that she wanted the lead character Lis to reflect a recognisable teenage reality, including the discomfort that arises when a young girl’s body is prematurely sexualised by society: "One of the requirements I had for Lis was that she have big boobs, because there’s something in that — in the sense that ‘two days ago I was a child, and now I have something that is sexually very attractive’."[11]

Representation vs. voyeurism

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Alemany was deliberate in how the teenage characters’ bodies were portrayed on screen. While scenes depict girls in underwear or in intimate situations, she emphasised that the intent was never to sexualise the characters, but rather to reflect everyday adolescent behaviour authentically and without judgement: "It’s really common when you’re getting ready to go out, at home with your friends, to be in that kind of underwear. But I didn’t want it to have a sexualised gaze, because what you’re seeing is a girl. But at the same time, they are sexual objects."[12] This duality – the contrast between internal experience and external perception – underlines the film’s broader concern with how young women are seen, judged, and constrained by their environments.

Release

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The film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2019.[13] Distributed by Filmax,[8] the film was released theatrically in Spain on 10 January 2020.

Reception

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The Innocence received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 100% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[14]

Awards

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Year Award CategoryNominee(s) ResultRef.
20192nd Valencian Audiovisual AwardsBest FilmNominated[15][16]
Best DirectorLucia AlemanyWon
Best ActressCarmen ArrufatWon
Best Supporting ActressLaia MarullNominated
Best Supporting ActorSergi LópezWon
Best Art DirectionAsier Musitu, Bea ToroNominated
Best Costume DesignGiovanna RibesNominated
Best Editing and Post-ProductionJuliana MontañésNominated
Best SoundCarlos Lidón, Dani ZacaríasNominated
2020 7th Feroz Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Film Laia Marull Nominated[17]
12th Gaudí AwardsBest Catalan-language FilmNominated[18][19]
Best DirectionLucía AlemanyNominated
Best ScreenplayLucía Alemany, Laia SolerNominated
Best ActressCarmen ArrufatNominated
Best Supporting ActressLaia MarullWon
Best EditingJuliana MontañésNominated
Best Makeup and HairstylesNatalia MontoyaNominated
34th Goya Awards Best New Actress Carmen Arrufat Nominated[20]
Best Original Song "Allí en la arena" by Toni M. Mir Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Hopewell, John (4 September 2019). "Toronto: Filmax Acquires Lucia Alemany's The Innocence". Variety. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  2. ↑ Hopewell, John (24 September 2019). "Lucia Alemany on San Sebastian New Directors Title The Innocence". Variety. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Lucía Alemany debuta en cines con La inocencia: Me he beneficiado de la lucha de muchas mujeres". lavanguardia.com (in Spanish). 8 January 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  4. ↑ Guerrero, Custodio (26 January 2020). "Goya 2020: Lista completa de ganadores". sensacine.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  5. ↑ Sardá, Juan (9 January 2020). "'La inocencia': Adiós a la infancia". El Cultural – via El Español.
  6. 1 2 García, Fernando (24 September 2019). "Una ópera prima sobre el dilema del aborto conquista San Sebastián". La Vanguardia.
  7. ↑ Vicente, Eduardo de (9 January 2020). "Los secretos de 'La inocencia' explicados por su directora, Lucía Alemany". El Periódico de Catalunya.
  8. 1 2 "'La inocencia' se estrenará en cines el 10 de enero". Audiovisual451. 14 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Pérez Martín, Javier (9 January 2020). "'La inocencia': Lucía Alemany demuestra por qué las mujeres tienen que hacer cine español". ecartelera.com (in Spanish).
  10. ↑ Pérez Martín, Javier (9 January 2020). "'La inocencia': Lucía Alemany demuestra por qué las mujeres tienen que hacer cine español". ecartelera.com (in Spanish). Es quien te da la vida, has estado en su útero nueve meses y te ha transmitido todo, sus miedos y sus fobias... Es importante sanar esa relación, si no tu vida está un poco bloqueada.
  11. ↑ Pérez Martín, Javier (9 January 2020). "'La inocencia': Lucía Alemany demuestra por qué las mujeres tienen que hacer cine español". ecartelera.com (in Spanish). Uno de los requisitos que yo quería de Lis era que tuviera las tetas grandes, porque hay algo ahí, en ese «hace dos días era niña, y ahora mismo tengo algo que sexualmente es súper atractivo».
  12. ↑ Pérez Martín, Javier (9 January 2020). "'La inocencia': Lucía Alemany demuestra por qué las mujeres tienen que hacer cine español". ecartelera.com (in Spanish). Realmente es muy común cuando estás preparándote para salir, en tu casa con tus amigas, vas con esa ropa interior. Pero no quería que tuviera una mirada sexualizada, porque estás viendo a una niña. Pero a la vez son objetos sexuales.
  13. ↑ "'La inocencia', una ópera prima sobre la adolescencia". Festival de Cine de Sevilla. 15 November 2019.
  14. ↑ "The Innocence (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "Inma Cuesta, Marta Belenguer y Tórtel, entre los nominados a los II Premis de l'Audiovisual Valencià". Europa Press. 31 October 2019.
  16. ↑ ""Vivir dos veces" triunfa en los Premios del Audiovisual Valenciano con seis estatuillas". Levante-EMV. 22 November 2019.
  17. ↑ "Premios Feroz 2020: la lista completa de ganadores". HuffPost. 17 January 2020.
  18. ↑ "Els nominats dels Premis Gaudí 2020". Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals. 4 December 2019.
  19. ↑ "Todos los ganadores de los XII Premios Gaudí, la gran noche del cine catalán". La Información. 20 January 2020.
  20. ↑ "La inocencia". Premios Goya. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
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