a woman. in a foreign country. and her obscure past. a film about fear and vulnerability and need to choose. and, finally, the impossibility to escape from the cage. the theme is not original but Giuseppe Tornatore has the rare gift to discover new and new nuances to it. and the option for Xenia Rappoport and Michele Placido is the key of the strange beauty of this special thriller. because it is one of stories from East who presents a case with universal resonance. because the tension is created with high precision. because each scene becomes a new window to a version to social hell. portrait of a desperate fight, it is a profound Christian film. not religious. only inspired remind of the pieces who defines the faith.

I have seen some Italian classics but not this! Many disturbing movies brings about some terrible horror sequence out of the way to show the audience that this is a terrible movie. This movie doesn't have such things. Hats off to the director who made such a script (a strong one). The screenplay is a bit complex and not all can accept the fact that this is a dark gem. If you can understand the screenplay, you wont complaint!I have to give the credits to the lead character all the way! I hardly recognize these actors but once the movie started off, I started traveling with the lead character. This is how a movie should be. The visuals were excellent. They were lovely at some places, haunting at some places, sexy at some but also horror at some. Very good images lifts the essence of the movie to a whole new level. I cant find any mistakes in the screenplay and I have to tell you this is a rare piece - a dark gem out there. Don't miss the experience.Must watch. Highly recommended.

I don't agree with those who consider La Sconosciuta one of the bad movies by Tornatore.. This is absolutely a very good movie regarding the direction, plot and the performances.. in addition to engaging music .. the issue is that kind of thriller movie belongs to a different category other than Cinema paradise nova.....I like the Unknown Woman so much.. it discusses a very important problem across eastern Europe .. "white Slaves" through a perfectly indirectly done story .. It doesn't contain sex scenes without justification .. and it's really a serious and interesting movie at the same time

Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore is probably best know for his nostalgic 1988 film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso that has achieved popularity among both critics and the general public. The Unknown Woman is currently one of his latest films and my first touch with the director's work. While certain aspects keep the movie from rising to the greatest class of thrillers out there, I think there is a lot to like in it as well.The film starts in a powerful and promising way: women in their underwear are being examined through a peephole in the wall of a dark gloomy hall. A voice orders one of them to stay, thus starting the non-chronologically advancing story. The bulk of the plot takes place in an Italian city, where the protagonist, a Ukrainian woman in her thirties named Irena (Kseniya Rappoport), has arrived to find work as a cleaner. After getting a job as the nanny of the Adachers, a wealthy family of three consisting of the father Donato (Pierfrancesco Favino), mother Valeria (Claudia Gerini) and their young daughter Tea (Clara Dossena), Irena enjoys the steady work and the company of the little girl, but also has a secret personal mission for which she is prepared to do whatever necessary. Menacing figures from her traumatic past have not forgotten her either.The strongest element of the film is without a doubt the visual style. The streets and buildings of the autumny city are beautifully photographed and the interior scenes are atmospherically lit throughout. The elegant mise en scène and camera movements are also calm, controlled and pleasant to follow, and the occasional abrasive flashbacks of Irena's past traumas suit the mood well too. The story of the flashbacks is only revealed near the end, until that they remain mysterious and rather disturbing; certain situations would not be out of place in a flat-out gorno movie, even though Tornatore maintains a less in-your-face style of presentation. The happier, earliest flashbacks are seen in hot, idyllic yellow tones that further strengthen the sense of growing bleakness in Irena's life, as the audience already knows that her happiness is going to be severely tainted soon.However, despite the gorgeous visuals, the whole is harmed by certain other aspects that are used in a manner I feel is not fitting for the tone. Most notably, the awarded music by legendary composer Ennio Morricone is relied on way too much when creating suspense: I feel Tornatore's use of almost constantly playing, Hitchcockian string compositions is highly overbearing and overtly manipulative in guiding the audience's emotions to the wanted direction. The stylish, calm visuals are more closely related to the tradition of slow-burning art films than sentimental B-thrillers, so I think a more subdued score would have definitely been more in tune with the classy mood of the story. Luckily later on there are more scenes with less music; as if by magic, the atmosphere feels instantly more suiting.The main theme of the story is probably the nature of family relationships, particularly those between mothers and daughters. Irena has motherly feelings towards Tea, but her past suffering seeps through her attitude into the life of Tea as well, marking another theme the film examines; namely, the effects of severe abuse on a person. The ending revelation provides closure for the story, even though the climax may come across as not entirely convincing, even cheesy. Even so, the creepy Michele Placido is good as the main antagonist Muffa ("Mould"), a violent and sadistic pimp and human trafficker. Kseniya Rappoport has no problems handling the lead acting responsibility as Irena, neither does Claudia Gerini as the jealous Valeria. Clara Dossena delivers a decent performance too, considering her young age.At the end of the day, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed The Unknown Woman as a well-created visual drama-thriller. Morricone's music sadly remains among the weaker links of the effort, even though I think it would surely sound very neat on an album of its own as opposed to being a mere supportive element to the images – the score is just too bold for such a purpose. Other than that, the film is well worth seeing and belongs among the better recent Italian films that I have seen.