At the heart of a densly wooded forest lies a mysterious girls' boarding school, cut off from the outside world by a grat wall with no door. Within, a group of youngsters aged between seven and twelve gather round a sma;; coffin, from which emerges a new pupil, six year old Iris. Led by the eldest girl, Bianca, Iris is .. Read more
| Starring | Marion Cotillard, Helene De Fourgerolles, Zoe Auclai, Zoe Auclair |
|---|---|
| Director | Lucile Hadzihalilovic |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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At the heart of a densly wooded forest lies a mysterious girls' boarding school, cut off from the outside world by a grat wall with no door. Within, a group of youngsters aged between seven and twelve gather round a sma;; coffin, from which emerges a new pupil, six year old Iris. Led by the eldest girl, Bianca, Iris is introduced to this strange yet enchanting world of lamp-lit forest paths and eerie underground passageways, where there are no adults save for some elderly servants and two melancholy young teachers...
| Starring | Marion Cotillard, Helene De Fourgerolles, Zoe Auclai, Zoe Auclair, Lea Bridarolli, Berangere Haubruge, Alison Lalieux, Olga Peytavi-Muller |
|---|---|
| Director | Lucile Hadzihalilovic |
| Studio | ARTIFICIAL EYE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 52 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | French |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 23 Jan 2006 Production year: 2004 |
| Format | DVD |
Is this a horror movie or a grim fairy tale? Dedicated to her colleague, confrontationalist director Gaspar Noé, and... read more on Time Out
A beautiful and haunting film.
This is one of those films that most people will hate & don't see the point of, a few will love it, but everyone will be befuddled at some point (if not downright baffled all the way through). The description of the DVD doesn't give much away, but then again, it's hard to describe a movie like this!
The story revolves around an eerily calm, sinister girls' school - where new pupils arrive in coffins & the girls wear different colours of ribbons in their hair to denote their ages (from 7 to 12). Lots of shots that could be construed as verging on paedophilic, if it were not for the director's neutral, almost sterile take on the material.
The big questions, though, are - what are the girls doing in the school? Why is it guarded from the outside world (by dint of a high brick wall running around the grounds)? What secrets do the adults (2 schoolteachers, & one cook/cleaner of sorts) have?
Worth a watch overall, if only because it will keep you thinking afterwards. Very difficult material, but a fine directorial debut.
I gave up watching this film after the first half hour, as I found it really embarrassing.
It seemed to focus on pre-pubescent girls in various states of undress. I am not easily offended, but this seemed gratuitous and straying into paedophilia. Although no scenes of a direct sexual nature it must only have got through the sensors on the technality of no actual sex nor direct sexual images
I can assure you I am not an intolerant bigot but this film really was the limit.
In fact, I have never responded to film in such a way ever before.