Fresh
Director and co-writer Anne Fontaine makes every shot and every exchange count in her tender but penetrating exploration of sisterhood in a brutal world.
Matthew Lickona, San Diego Reader
The Innocents
Deeply moving and emotionally layered.
2016 · 1h 55m · PG-13
Drama, History
Directed by
Anne Fontaine
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
The Innocents
Overview
Poland, 1945. Mathilde, a young French Red Cross doctor, is on a mission to help the war survivors. When a nun seeks for her help, she is brought to a convent where several pregnant sisters are hiding, unable to reconcile their faith with their pregnancy. Mathilde becomes their only hope.
Director and cast
- Anne Fontaine Director
- Lou de Laâge as Mathilde Beaulieu
- Agata Buzek as Nun Maria
- Agata Kulesza as Mother Superior
- Vincent Macaigne as Samuel
- Joanna Kulig as Nun Irena
- Eliza Rycembel as Teresa
- Katarzyna Dąbrowska as Nun Anna
- Anna Próchniak as Zofia
- Helena Sujecka as Ludwika
- Mira Maludzińska as Bibiana
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Fontaine ("Gemma Bovary," "Coco Before Chanel") has just the right touch. There is no melodrama here, simply women of faith living day to day.
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Fresh
Shot in artful, quiet light (many of the frames look like elegant paintings), "The Innocents" is beautifully performed by its nearly all-female cast; each nun, even those unnamed, is given her own personality and story.
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times
Fresh
The ghastliness of this situation has its black comic aspects, but director Anne Fontaine keeps everything on an even keel -- too even.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Fresh
The Innocents is a powerful, brave film that will stay with you for days.
Ellen Brait, Globe and Mail
More films
The Nun's Story (1959)
Drama · Approved
After leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.
- Runtime
- 2h 31m
- Director
- Fred Zinnemann
- Cast
- Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Edith Evans
IMDb
7.5
Rotten Tomatoes
85%
Metacritic
78
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Drama · History · War · PG-13
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Cast
- Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus
IMDb
7.3
Rotten Tomatoes
93%
Metacritic
92
Women Talking (2022)
Drama · PG-13
A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.
- Runtime
- 1h 44m
- Director
- Sarah Polley
- Cast
- Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley
IMDb
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes
90%
Metacritic
77
Fatima (2020)
Drama · PG-13
In 1917, outside the parish of Fátima, Portugal, a 10-year-old girl and her two younger cousins witness multiple visitations of the Virgin Mary, who tells them that only prayer and suffering will bring an end to World War I. As secularist government officials and Church leaders try to force the children to recant their story, word of ...
- Runtime
- 1h 53m
- Cast
- Harvey Keitel, Sônia Braga, Goran Višnjić
IMDb
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes
58%
Metacritic
50
Black Narcissus (1947)
Drama · Approved
A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow o...
- Runtime
- 1h 40m
- Director
- Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell
- Cast
- Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar
IMDb
7.7
Rotten Tomatoes
100%
Metacritic
86
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Crime · Drama · Thriller · R
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as...
- Runtime
- 1h 59m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn
IMDb
8.6
Rotten Tomatoes
95%
Metacritic
86
Philadelphia (1993)
Drama · PG-13
Two lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
- Runtime
- 2h 6m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards
IMDb
7.7
Rotten Tomatoes
81%
Metacritic
66
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Mystery · Thriller · R
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mys...
- Runtime
- 2h 10m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber
IMDb
6.6
Rotten Tomatoes
79%
Metacritic
76
Stop Making Sense (1984)
Documentary · Music · PG
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
- Runtime
- 1h 28m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison
IMDb
8.7
Rotten Tomatoes
100%
Metacritic
94
Something Wild (1986)
Comedy · Crime · Romance · R
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up.
- Runtime
- 1h 54m
- Director
- Jonathan Demme
- Cast
- Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta
IMDb
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes
92%
Metacritic
73
Comments
Talk about the film with other members