Women's war experiences to the forefront in Fontaine film

Young doctor Mathilde enters the private world of Polish nuns in The Innocents. Photo/Supplied

Whanganui Film Society's next screening is Anne Fontaine's compelling and affecting drama The Innocents.

Reviewer Monica Castillo described The Innocents as "a lovely ode to healing through solidarity".

The film illuminates events that occurred in Poland in the aftermath of World War II, placing women's experiences of war very much at its centre.

Mathilde (Lou de Laage), a young doctor with the French Red Cross, is entreated by a desperate young nun to make a secret visit to a nearby abbey.

She arrives to find a young sister in labour.

Mathilde is soon drawn into the intensely private world of the nuns as they confide the nightmare of the "liberating" army that led to their predicament.

The Innocents is In French, Polish and Russian, with English subtitles. It has an M rating and a warning that themes of sexual violence and suicide may disturb.

The Innocents: Davis Theatre, Whanganui Regional Museum, 7pm, Monday, November 19.