THE INNOCENT

Ruth lives in Switzerland and appears by all account to be happy and settled in her family life, with two children and a devout husband. Together they are members of a local church and socialize frequently with the other parishioners. Ruth also works as a researcher on spinal cord injuries and head transplants of monkeys. And yet the tranquility of Ruth's life is increasingly disturbed by mysterious apparitions of her ex, a man convicted for his violent past and a link to a completely different life for Ruth. Is he still in prison, or is he dead? And why is she seeing him now, planting seeds of doubt and disquiet in her carefully engineered new happiness?

Full of biblical echoes and at the same time confronting the darkest of godless concerns, Simon Jaquemet’s intriguingly gelid film mesmerizes in the way it tackles Christianity, faith, personal agency and the notion of truth. It's a challenging work that at times forces the viewer to watch, and at others undermines the ability to see properly. Judith Hofmann anchors the film throughout, in a performance of rare strength.