The Comedy Of Innocence Synopsis & Summary

A woman begins to wonder if her young son is who she thinks he is in this psychological suspense story. Ariane and Pierre (Isabelle Huppert and Denis Podalydes) are the busy parents of a nine-year-old son, Camille (Nils Hugon). Camille feels neglected by his hard-working mom and dad and often seems to drift into a world of his own, preferring his imaginary friends to other children or his nanny Helene (Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre). One day, Camille startles Ariane by announcing he wants to live with his real mother -- and proceeds to lead her to an apartment across town, where Ariane is introduced to a stranger named Isabella (Jeanne Balibar). Camille seems to know all the nooks and crannies of Isabella's flat, and the latter insists that he is her lost son Paul, who actually drowned two years ago. Unsure of what to do, Ariane decides to play along, going so far as to allow Isabella to stay in the family's home as she tries to resolve Camille's dilemma with the help of her brother Serge (Charles Berling), a psychiatrist. Comedie de L'Innocence is based on a novel by Massimo Bontempelli and was directed by acclaimed Chilean filmmaker Raul Ruiz. - Mark Deming, All Movie Guide