The Innocence () is a 2019 Spanish drama film directed by LucÃÂa Alemany (in her feature film debut), starring Carmen Arrufat alongside Laia Marull, Sergi López, and Joel Bosqued.
The film was nominated for two Goya Awards.
Set in a rural area of the province of Castellón, 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.
The film was produced by Turanga Films, Un Capricho de Producciones, and Lagarto Films, with additional backing from IVC, ICEC, ÃÂ Punt, TV3, Movistar Plus+ and ECAM's La Incubadora.
Director-screenwriter Alemany had an abortion when she was 17 and was raised in Traiguera, the main shooting location for the film.
Director LucÃÂa 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. 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 motherâÂÂdaughter dynamics: "SheâÂÂs the one who gave you life, youâÂÂve been in her womb for nine months and sheâÂÂs passed everything on to you, her fears and phobias⦠Healing that relationship is important â otherwise, your life feels a bit blocked."
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 girlâÂÂs body is prematurely sexualised by society: "One of the requirements I had for Lis was that she have big boobs, because thereâÂÂs something in that â in the sense that âÂÂtwo days ago I was a child, and now I have something that is sexually very attractiveâÂÂ."
Alemany was deliberate in how the teenage charactersâ 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: "ItâÂÂs really common when youâÂÂre getting ready to go out, at home with your friends, to be in that kind of underwear. But I didnâÂÂt want it to have a sexualised gaze, because what youâÂÂre seeing is a girl. But at the same time, they are sexual objects." This duality â the contrast between internal experience and external perception â underlines the filmâÂÂs broader concern with how young women are seen, judged, and constrained by their environments.
The film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2019. Distributed by Filmax, the film was released theatrically in Spain on 10 January 2020.
The Innocence received positive reviews from film critics. It holds approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on reviews, with an average rating of .
|- | align = "center" rowspan = "9" | 2019 || rowspan = "9" | 2nd Valencian Audiovisual Awards || colspan = "2" | Best Film || || rowspan = "9" | |- | Best Director || Lucia Alemany || |- | Best Actress || Carmen Arrufat || |- | Best Supporting Actress || Laia Marull || |- | Best Supporting Actor || Sergi López || |- | Best Art Direction || Asier Musitu, Bea Toro || |- | Best Costume Design || Giovanna Ribes || |- | Best Editing and Post-Production || Juliana Montañés || |- | Best Sound || Carlos Lidón, Dani ZacarÃÂas || |- | align = "center" rowspan = "10" | 2020 | rowspan=1 | 7th Feroz Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Film | Laia Marull | || |- | rowspan = "7" | 12th GaudàAwards || colspan = "2" | Best Catalan-language Film || || rowspan = "7" | |- | Best Direction || LucÃÂa Alemany || |- | Best Screenplay || LucÃÂa Alemany, Laia Soler || |- | Best Actress || Carmen Arrufat || |- | Best Supporting Actress || Laia Marull || |- | Best Editing || Juliana Montañés || |- | Best Makeup and Hairstyles || Natalia Montoya || |- | rowspan=2 | 34th Goya Awards | Best New Actress | Carmen Arrufat | || rowspan = "2" | |- | Best Original Song | "Allàen la arena" by Toni M. Mir |