Who among us didn’t wanted to be a superhero as a kid? You can’t spend your time reading and watching comic book adventures without fantasizing about flying or shooting lasers out of your eyes or whatever. But, as the old adage goes, “with great power comes great responsibility,” and boy howdy, are little kids not the right people to understand that lesson. This is exactly the themes at play in the new Norwegian film, The Innocents, which explores childhood morality with a supernatural twist.
Enjoy our exclusive clip of the film, coming May 13 from IFC Midnight.
From Eskil Vogt, the Academy Award-nominated co-writer of The Worst Person in the World comes The Innocents, part coming of age story, part super power parable. During the bright Nordic summer, a group of children reveal their dark and mysterious powers when the adults aren’t looking. If you’re going to have dark powers, let’s hope they’re also mysterious.
The clip illustrates how quickly fun games can turn violent. All the same turn-on-a-dime emotions we all felt as kids, but with telekinesis thrown in. In a lot of ways, The Innocents is a purer version of the themes on display in Chronicle. But much scarier, and without the shaky cam. The young cast are as realistic and heartbreaking as actors quadruple their age. Especially little Rakel Lenora Fløttum as Ida, the movie’s main character. Her performance will absolutely blow you away when you see it.
The movie premiered at Cannes in 2021 and then played Fantastic Fest later the same year. Now The Innocents hits theaters nationwide beginning Friday, May 13. For more information, you can visit the official IFC Midnight site.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.