Innocence

When troubled minor Olinka (Anna Linhartová), accuses her physician, Tomas (Ondrej Vetchý), of sexual abuse, her allegations, exposed by the media, cause the doctor’s comfortable life to collapse like a house of cards, destroying his reputation and complicating his relationship with family, friends and colleagues. With this film, VIFF favourites Jan Hrebejk, director, and Petr Jarchovský, screenwriter, (Kawasaki’s Rose, Divided We Fall) move into new genre territory, offering a complex psychological thriller that will keep audiences guessing until the surprising dénouement.

Tomas is a highly respected rehabilitation specialist, working in a children’s unit. On the surface, his life appears enviable. He lives in a beautiful suburban home with his extended family, including wife Milada (Zita Morávková), their adolescent daughter, sister-in-law Lida (Ana Geislerová, Beauty in Trouble) and father-in-law (Ludek Munzar). But long repressed issues lurk beneath the family’s superficial tranquility. And it doesn’t help when Milada’s grudge-bearing ex-husband Lada (Hynek Cermák) turns out to be the detective assigned to the case. Even as Olinka’s testimony creates the suspicion that she has made up the affair, the threads of Tomas’s family life continue to unravel.

Smoothly crafted with top Czech actors providing nuanced performances, Innocence is rumoured to be one of “a trilogy of blame and punishment,” marking a new path for the Czech duo. –VIFF