FerchArthur
First, I must say I have seen INGENUE more than once. I own the DVD and the companion book.If you crave action-packed, big budget sci/fi movies with little to no actual plot, then move along. This is not the movie that you seek. If on the other hand you enjoy thought provoking, emotion provoking, well plotted, well written, well directed and well acted movies, then pop some popcorn, slip this DVD in and sit back. Keep tissues handy--just saying. I have seen this twice already; including its premier in the Indiana State Museum's IMAX theater. INGENUE is a tender and poignant story about a family thrust into an extraordinary situation. As they deal with the issues raised, they all learn something about themselves and grow from that. I especially liked the mother, she was so strong throughout, even though she didn't think she was. Kate Chaplin did a superb job drawing it all together.But then, Ms. Chaplin had a great team to work with, including the talented David Kemp who composed the soundtrack. Mr. Kemp wrote the original music and used local, Central Indiana musicians and bands (Lowdown and Deadbeat Heroes) for the recording. He has a wonderful sense of musical timing, pairing just the right style of music and tone to add yet another layer of emotion to what Ms. Chaplin had already created visually and from her talent.
Tara Eary
I can honestly say that I have never seen a movie like this before. "Ingenue" is not just a 'sci-fi', or a 'dramedy' - it actually transcends genre. While the core focus of the film is on what makes us human, it dissects into other facets of human existence; family life, friendship, love, diversity of culture and race, science as 'god'/science vs. 'God', and much much more.We meet Rosie, our human analogue, just as her family does. We grow with her as she matures from childhood to adulthood, and learns all those lessons we did (and, for some of us, still are). We take a journey with her into human existence, and figuring out who she is as 'Rosie', also leads us to ask who WE are (as ourselves).**SPOILERS AHEAD** In a scene in Act 2 'Rosie' (played by "The Gamer Chick's" Sara Moore) asks her mom (the gorgeous and totally underrated Melissa Chapman) if she is a woman because she can't have a baby. And while I'd been sobbing since the first 15 minutes, this scene got to me. I'd recently been told that I may not ever have kids, and the longing and ache that Ms. Moore put into Rosie's yearning, not just to be a mom, but to be human, resonated like a gong going off in my chest. I'd asked myself the same questions - if I can't make babies, does that mean I'm not a woman? If not, than what am I? Of course I know that, biologically I AM female, but biologically is not LOGIC, which had no place in my heart. Kate Chaplin's answer for me was - I was whatever I wanted to be. It didn't matter that my baby-box was empty - my baby box was not ME. And neither was Rosie's.At the end of the film, there is a scene where Rosie, laying unconscious in hospital, is dreaming of meeting herself, or the woman she was cloned from. In the dream, she asks herself many different questions about who she is, why is she human, and what makes her think she CAN be human? She is literally fighting with herself over her own identity - and who hasn't been there? I'm not going to get into technical aspects - the film looks good, the actors all did well with their material, the kids were GREAT in it, and the leads (again, Sara Moore and Melissa Chapman) held the film through. On those basics, well, everyone has their own opinions. But just from the story and meaning aspects of filmmaking - you need to see this movie. It speaks in a language that cinema has been trying to talk to us through for over 100 years. We finally have our translator.
