Innocence

Fifty years after a tender, melodious love affair, two septuagenarian sweethearts are reunited and find their hearts rekindled in this ardent and touching--if sometimes obvious--life-affirming romantic drama. Andreas and Claire (Charles Tingwell and Julia Blake) recapture a little youth here and there, eyes a-sparkle as they neck on a riverbank or sneak into a church where he plays the organ. Meanwhile her husband fumes, but does little else for fear of driving her away faster. Writer-director Paul Cox finds emotional depth and breadth in these characters' renewed love and in their memories, but because Innocence is a film about lovers in their autumn years, rather predictable health problems begin to play a large part in the plot, which soon feels all too fabricated as a result. Optional. (R. Blackwelder)