Italy | 2006 | Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
Logline: A determined and troubled Ukrainian woman becomes the maid and nanny to a young, affluent Italian family, befriending the young impressionable daughter as part of her elaborate mission to uncover a sad and shocking truth.
Nominated for Best Foreign Language film at the 2008 Academy Awards and winner of numerous European awards Giuseppe Tornatore’s brilliant jigsaw puzzle thriller is his first movie in six years and stands alongside his equally stunning psychological thriller Una Pura Formalita (A Pure Formality) as ingeniously crafted Hitchcockian cinema.
The Italian title refers to someone unknown, a stranger. For its American release the title The Other Woman was slapped on it which suggests a Hollywood-styled illicit affair. Later the title was adjusted to The Unknown Woman, being more faithful to the original, and it is this sub-title which accompanies the belated Australasian DVD release.
Tornantore is a consummate visualist, but is also an expert in coaxing the best form his actors. His two leads, Xenia Rappoport as Irena and Clara Dossener as Tea Adacher, are extraordinary; both very brave performances indeed, as there are several incredibly demanding scenes between them which involve Irena’s inner demons. Also of note is Paolo Elmo as Nello, Irena’s nemesis.
Like A Pure Formality Tornatore melds the sensual with the visceral with the hand of a master storyteller and expressionist. The Unknown is a sad, haunting adult tale that doesn’t shy from moments of extreme brutality, but also moments of tenderness and tranquility. It is this combination of tactile and ephemeral elements that makes Irena’s dark journey so fascinating and enlightening. She’s a smart woman who has been forced to live in the gutter, driven to obsession through desperation, grief and yearning. This is a unique mother’s tale.
Piece by piece the enigma of Irena’s troubled past becomes clearer and clearer. Tornatore jumps between flashback and the present tense revealing sections of Irena’s ghastly existence at the hands of a vicious black marketer, who profits from selling beautiful babies to wealthy couples who cannot bear their own. From the mysterious alluring opening scene where Irena is nude and masked alongside several other young women being scrutinized by an unknown selector through to the end of Irena’s duplicitous and harrowing quest, The Sconosciuta is powerful cinema.
But much of the enjoyment comes from the sheer fabrication of the tale, the construction of the narrative, the alarming lengths Irena will go to, the strange relationship she forges with young Tea, the tragedy of her love life, the horror of her revenge, the beauty of her mission, and the final scene of reunion. Ennio Morricone provides a fittingly dramatic and emotional score.
Despite the shocking violation of Irena’s past and a couple of horrific scenes of savage violence the movie is able to transcend its inherent darkness to become a story of resignation and hope. Life’s bitter twists only proving perseverance is the anchor to inner peace.
TRAILER:
Wow this looks incredible. Appears very brutal but just from the trailer I can tell it was shot beautifully. I’m relieved by your description of a somewhat redeeming ending. And of course any film is made better with a score from Ennio Morricone. I will add this to my ever expanding list!
Natalina, it is a beautiful, but tough film. If I had any quibbles, it was that the ending came together a little too abruptly, with a tagged-on epilogue, but I still loved the movie.
Wow, this looks incredible!
Hi Cheryl, yes Guiseppe has pulled another great film out of his magician’s hat.