''The Holy Innocents'' (1988) is a
novel by
Gilbert Adair
Gilbert Adair (29 December 19448 December 2011) was a Scottish novelist, poet, film critic, and journalist.Stuart Jeffries and Ronald BerganObituary: Gilbert Adair ''The Guardian'', 9 December 2011. He was critically most famous for the "fiend ...
about French siblings and an American stranger who enters their world. Its themes were inspired by Jean Cocteau's 1929 novel ''
Les Enfants Terribles'' (''The Holy Terrors'') and by
the 1950 film of the same name directed by
Jean-Pierre Melville
Jean-Pierre Melville (; born Jean-Pierre Grumbach; 20 October 1917 – 2 August 1973) was a French filmmaker and actor. Among his films are ''Le Silence de la mer'' (1949), '' Bob le flambeur'' (1956), ''Le Doulos'' (1962), '' Le Samouraï'' (19 ...
.
Publishing
The book has been printed in
hardcover and
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
only once. ''The Holy Innocents'' was revised in conjunction with the development of the film, however, and this new version has been published under the title ''The Dreamers''.
Plot
''The Holy Innocents'' is the story of three young cinephiles, Matthew, an American studying in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, and the French twins Guillaume and Danielle. Set in the tumultuous months of 1968, it is a story of obsession and youth.
The initial obsession is cinematic. Matthew is studying film, the twins are fascinated by the cinema, and they become close because of their shared interest. Spending their evenings at Paris' grand
Cinémathèque they live only for the cinema. When French Culture Minister
André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and Minister of Culture (France), minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Go ...
fires Cinémathèque director
Langlois, a prelude to the
May uprising, the Cinémathèque is closed. A nation is thrown into confusion, but the three youngsters hardly notice: their small world has been ruined, and they do not know what to do. Matthew manages to establish a relationship with the twins beyond the confines of the Cinémathèque—though it is initially still cinematically centered. Invited for dinner at their house he is invited to spend the night, which he does. There he discovers that Danielle and Guillaume's relationship goes beyond the usual sibling intimacy—and finds he is not as troubled by this as he would have expected. Attracted to both of them he moves in with them, their father—a famous poet—and stepmother conveniently setting off for an extended stay in the country.
The youngsters live in their own little world, not bothering to go to school any more, playing cinematic trivia games (raising the stakes all the while), reveling in their youth. They live the lives of innocents, cut off from society and civilization. They do not wash their clothes, they steal their food, they don't care about the world around them. They have sex as partners (in all permutations) and all together.
They are finally thrust back into society in May 1968, only to find the siege on the streets as Paris has risen up around them.
Adaptation
A French-British-Italian co-produced film adaptation,
''The Dreamers'', of the novel was made in 2003, directed by
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
and starring
Louis Garrel
Louis Garrel (born 14 June 1983) is a French actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his starring role in '' The Dreamers'', directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. ,
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green (, ; born ) is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003). She achieved international reco ...
, and
Michael Pitt
Michael Carmen Pitt (born April 10, 1981) is an American actor, model, and musician. Pitt is known in film for his roles in '' Murder by Numbers'' (2002), Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003), Gus Van Sant's '' Last Days'' (2005), and M ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Innocents
1988 British novels
British novels adapted into films
Novels by Gilbert Adair
Incest in fiction
Male bisexuality in fiction
Novels with bisexual themes
Bisexuality-related fiction
Twins in fiction
Heinemann (publisher) books
Novels set in Paris