Irena (Kseniya Rappoport) is a mystery woman obsessed with getting the nanny job with a particular family. She bribes the building's manager to clean the common area. She befriends the family's nanny and then she even trips her down the stairs to her death. Valeria Adacher, her daughter Thea, and husband Donato have a secret safe in their apartment. Thea is pushed around at school and Irena uses unconventional measures to toughen her. In the continuing flashbacks, Irena is an Ukrainian prostitute who finds love with a young man. That past is never far from her mind and comes back to harass her.This is a movie precious with its ultimate reveal. It does a great job creating some misdirections. It lasts a bit too long. The reveal should come sooner allowing a more compelling action thriller third act. It's a compelling mystery for the first hour. The sex slave montage does get repetitive and possibly reveals too much. This could be a more compelling thriller if it's tighter.

Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore both wrote (with Massimo De Rita) and directed this intensely powerful film about the resilience of the human spirit. It is a triumphant masterpiece of a film that somehow has escaped the eyes of the audiences here in this country. With this DVD it should find a legion of fine film aficionados for 'La Sconosciuta'/'The Unknown Woman'/'The Other Woman' as it is variable named. In a series of flashbacks and flash forwards the story reveals the history of a Ukrainian girl Irena (a brilliant tour de force of acting by Russian born actress known variably as Kensiya/Ksenia/Xenia Rappoport) who lives in a small village, has a handsome construction worker lover, but following a need for a better life of wealth and fame, becomes involved with the pimp Muffa (Michele Placido) who uses her popularity as a prostitute to fill his coffers while sadistically binding and beating her into submission as a breeder of babies for the black market. Irena finally attacks Muffa, thinking she has killed him, escapes and moves to Velarchi, Italy where she rents a small apartment across the street from wealthy couple Donato (Pierfrancesco Favino) and Valeria (Claudia Gerini) Adacher who are gold dealers and their daughter Tea (Clara Dossena) who apparently is suffering from a neurological disorder that causes her parents to be overprotective of her lack of ability to cope with aggression. First working as a servant and house cleaner Irena pleads with her employer to find her a better job, and that job just happens to be a new nanny for the Adachers. Irena gradually ingratiates herself in to the family, earning the trust and respect of the parents and especially that of Tea. In a series of flashbacks instigated by events that occur in the household Irena relives her gruesome past, devotes herself to training Tea how to defend herself, and in general makes herself indispensable to the family. But many twists and turns occur: Muffa is not dead and shows up in Velarchi demanding money, beats Irena, and causes a life of desperation for Irena. Because Irena is convinced that Tea is one of her babies she sold on the Black Market she does many things that turn out negatively: at worst she discovers Tea is not indeed her daughter and the events that follow are both tragic and ultimately redeeming Kseniva Rappoport is transcendently beautiful, immersing herself in this impossibly difficult role without ever losing our empathy. Both Gerini and Favino as the parents and Dossena as the daughter are consummate actors and the fine cast is supported by cameo roles by such luminaries as Margherita Buy, Nicola Di Pinto and of course Michele Placido as one of the oiliest, most hateful villains ever created for the screen. The effective cinematography, mixing the past imagery with the present, is the fine work of Fabio Zamarion and the musical score is by the always-fine Ennio Morricone. Giuseppe Tornatore has created a masterpiece of cinematic art. A revelation. Grady Harp

I was very excited to watch another Tornatore's movie, but after 5 minutes I wanted to ask my money back! I really wasted 10$. The actors were good; this is probably the only thing I liked and allow me to give a "1" as a score. The movie tells the story of Irena, an Ukraine girl, who comes to a small town in North of Italy and works as a janitor in a nice building. She becomes a thief, steeling and making copies of the keys of the apartment of the Adachers, a rich family of jewelers, who lives in the same building. Then she is responsible for the falling of Gina,and replaces her as a maid in the family. The movie is characterized by feedbacks of Irena's past, when she was a prostitute, forced to have children and sell them. Just to the end, we discover the real plan of Irena: living close to Tea, the last child she was forced to have, and apparently was sold and adopted by the Adachers. But the ghosts from Irena's past come back and the story ends in a real drama and in years of prison for Irena. The all story was horrible. First, I'm really tired of seeing another Italian movie showing the story of a foreign from East Europe being a prostitute, a maid and a thief. Come on, Giuseppe, find something better! It looks an "amateur" story, not directed by a famous director as Tornatore, but by young director at his first movie. And don't tell me it was his first thriller: if somebody is not able to direct a thriller, just don't do it. There were good ideas but he just wasted them, and none of them look credible. As the falling of Gina, the old maid of the Adachers, is not credible. The old lady is paralyzed after falling down the stairs, and, just at the end, starts recovering from the accident. Her recovering doesn't make any sense to the story and is left in the air. Then the Mold, an evil character from Irena's past, performed by an excellent Michele Placido, who was killed by a giant scissor that would have killed an elephant, is still alive and comes back in Irena's life. Or the last name of the family that adopted Tea, chosen by the Mold by a name engraved on his necklace. Not to mention that, after Tea's mum died because of Irena, Tea continues to write to Irena while she is in jail and pick her from prison years later. I had the impression Tornatore started the movie without knowing the end and then he just developed it, adding new ideas, but none credible. I really don't understand how actors as Claudia Gerini, Michele Placido, and Margherita Bui decided to appear in this movie. It's really awful and it is far ages from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso and Malena.

"The Unknown Woman" is such an intense film that don't even think about "having a good time" while going to see it. "Cinema Paradiso" shouldn't be your reference for this "dark" Tornatore film. This is not for having a good time! This is for witnessing the lives that you can hardly think someone lived. This is feeling the pain of injustice in your veins. This is feeling shame that you live in such a world and can't and won't be able to do anything to change it. This is heart breaking! This is being absorbed by a touching story that is beautifully told. This is what cinema is for. One can only say,"Bravo Tornatore"!