The trailer for Eskil Vogt’s The Innocents doesn’t really let you in on a whole lot. You get a group of young children, seemingly all living in the same high rise apartment building in Norway. They play, spend time together, pick on one another, get into highjinx, and work on their psychokinetic powers. Wait, what?
Yes. That’s what this movie has in store for us. A gorgeously shot film that spends time both admiring architecture as well as nature. A movie that looks at the loneliness of early adolescence. A movie that shows the early stages of social interaction. How you make friends, how you communicate amongst them, and maybe a bit of what not to do as well. This almost dream-like state the movie exists in will have you on the edge of your seat and riddled with anxiety, even if you’re consciously unaware why.
Premiered at Cannes in 2021, this was one of two movies Vogt wrote that competed on the beautiful coast of Southern France (the other being the Oscar-nominated The Worst Person in the World). Vogt previously wrote the indie horror hit Thelma, as well as wrote & directed the 2014 drama Blind. Once again, IFC Midnight scooped this film up to pad out their wonderful roster of 2022 releases. They’re on a roll!
The Innocents will be released in theaters and on VOD May 13th.
