The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999)

Synopsis: The ambitions announced in the title THE LOSS OF SEXUAL INNOCENCE are realized in the concept of the film itself--the tale of a modern man intercut with scenes of Adam and Eve's fall.... The ambitions announced in the title THE LOSS OF SEXUAL INNOCENCE are realized in the concept of the film itself--the tale of a modern man intercut with scenes of Adam and Eve's fall. Writer-director Mike Figgis charts episodes in the sexual life of Nic (played as an adult by Julian Sands), a filmmaker who seems a lot like Figgis himself. (Nic, like Figgis, is raised in Africa and lives in England as a teenager.) As these episodes build to form a psychological portrait of Nic, Figgis flashes to a naked Adam being born from the center of a lake, then to the birth of Eve, their discoveries of the world, Eve's encounter with the serpent, and their expulsion from the garden. The modern story and the biblical one are not necessarily parallel, but their grim conclusions are inextricably linked in a universal cycle of sin and retribution. The film is almost wordless, relying instead on striking imagery and beautiful 16mm handheld camerawork. Figgis fades to black within scenes to create the pulsing effect he employed in MISS JULIE; he also uses title cards to play with the narrative and heighten the allegorical nature of this challenging film. [More]

Starring: Saffron Burrows, Julian Sands, Femi Ogumbanjo, Hanne Klintoe

Starring: Saffron Burrows, Julian Sands, Femi Ogumbanjo, Hanne Klintoe, Stefano Dionisi, Kelly MacDonald, Gina McKee, Jonathan Rhys-Myers, John Cowey, George Moktar, Bernard Hill, Johanna Torell, Rossy De Palma, Terry Crump

Director: Mike Figgis

Director: Mike Figgis
Screenwriter: Mike Figgis

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