Customer Reviews

The Unknown Woman

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

From a director who has made some wonderful films, from one of the best composers there ever has been, and from an actress that gave a performance of a lifetime comes this incredible piece of work that I cannot recommend enough.

As far as acting, risks and film style - this should have won that year but at least it got submitted for the Academy (wrongly overlooked - probably due to content). A suspenseful tale that follows the lead woman through flashbacks and present time, with an editing style that makes the film a stand-out in storytelling. Xenia Rappaport convinced me beyond any doubt of her skill level, and even when you watch the supplemental documentary, she exudes a certain professionalism that warrants attention. A strong R rating of a film about retribution, loss, prostitution in the worst way, and an ending I did not see coming (considering all that had happened).

The DVD quality is excellent, the sound mixed perfectly for what was being asked, and the supplemental feature contains just the right amount of background material and non-cheesy interviews. Hope this does not get overlooked again.

A little hard to follow and a little hard to swallow, this film by the director of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso is gritty and loose. A dark controlled chaos in skilled hands, it feels like an army of films rushing at you all at once. It's a bit overwhelming until the grabs you, sucks you in and won't let you go performance of Xenia Rappoport kicks in. She's a magnet in the middle of a mysterious mayhem. It's too bad that the style and substance of the film will prevent it from ever becoming popular because her portrayal of suffering and sheer determination is one for the history books. The woman's got chops. She moves like an insect through the undergrowth of her seedy milieu with an androgynous, unkempt beauty that's both tempting and invisible. She's able to shift her portrayal from one emotion to another, and then another, without moving a muscle in her face--a skill few actors possess. It's her story and we follow her through it not knowing exactly what she's after or what she will do with it when she seems to have it in her grasp. That's the unknown part and Rappoport plays the mystery for all it's worth. She works the complex narrative inside her head and lets the revelations drip out slowly, uncontrollably.

Director Giuseppe Tornatore says this film is about a woman reclaiming her power as a woman (there's a great big serving of motherhood with that) after it has been stripped from her from every angle imaginable. Rappoport's character is the victim of a human slave trade that uses immigrant Eastern European women to make babies for the upper-class. She's gotten out of it, but with a lot of baggage. Some of it is misplaced and some of it is hurled at us in short, chaotic flashbacks in the beginning of the film (that's the hard to follow part), slowly unfolding to more understandable scenes as they catch up with her present life at the end of the film--a nice structural technique by the director.

Roger Ebert wrote a review of this movie which essentially lists the aspects of it he thinks he understands and the aspects he thinks he doesn't. He scores a little above average, I think, which is about as good as anyone is probably going to do. There's a noir-ish component (not a stylistic one) to the film where major events and character traits are unleashed which are way beyond the reality of any mere mortal's life. There are also plenty of cause-for-pause moments when you will consider if the means justify the end. That's the hard to swallow part but I'm not complaining. It is a movie after all, and if you've read many of my reviews you know that I take all comers when it comes to plot gymnastics as long as they don't infringe upon the integrity of my players, as long as they don't cause incredulity to appear on the faces of the actors because they don't believe the script. Giuseppe Tornatore is lucky, or smart, to have enlisted an actress with the strength of Xenia Rappoport. ET coulda popped in here and I don't think she would have missed a beat.

Speaking of beats, Ennio Morricone scored this film spectacularly.

Giuseppe Tornatore is a genius, this movie is a gem. Buy it and keep it in your collection. Superb acting, incredible story of human love and desperation. I cannot believe this movie did not win any Oscars.

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 indispensible 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, August 10

Italian language movie with subtitles. This movie is in the genre of Alfred Hitchcock movies. Suspense and suprises throughout the movie. There are a lot of nude and sexually explicit scenes so may not be suitable for children, but definetly a movie to watch if you like suspense.

There is no way to describe this movie without spoilers. It's the story of a woman ********SPOILERS COMING*********



beaten, raped, forced into sexual slavery, prostitution and bearing of children who are sold into adoption. She escapes and searches for one of the children, committing her own heinous crimes against the innocent along the way. It's almost pornographic in its intent, if not in its imagery, which is harsh, but wouldn't get an X-rating these days. These things and worse do happen to women, but to superimpose a twisted story of misplaced revenge is to really do a disservice to victims of such crimes. This is a twisted movie, not the least bit redeemed by sensitivity, imo. I don't care about the writing, cinematography, music, etc. The story is a weird mixture of attempted sensitivity and commercial exploitation. And, it turns on the incredibly unlikely coincidence that the couple whose name her pimp gives her *at random* -- he takes it off a piece of jewelry, it has nothing to do with the sale of her child -- turn out to have an adopted daughter who is the same age within 3 days and who looks like the main character. I found the concept distasteful. Just my opinion. Others have liked it.

If there is one thing to say about this movie, it is fast paced, filled with many many different scenes, angles, flashbacks, settings, characters, and lord, never a dull moment. The filming is quality, the concept with flashbacks is good, some settings are real and the views are generally beautiful. But there is so much happening here, so much it is impossible to understand given that you are to, own your own, attempt to grasp the story as it unfolds. I have not seen a film where so much has happened to a character that it becomes unbelievable.

The lengthy Italian film is a dark psychological tormenting drama. Ugly sex, nudity, brutality in flashbacks, abusive, graphic, violent and bloooody. It unfolds with furthering complexities and played out too weird. A child actor plays an important role and it is difficult to watch a child handled abusively while simultaneously, a graphic violent scene from Irena's past plays on.

The focus is a young woman who has been in the sex slave, sadistic industry and gave birth to 9 kids and the kids would be sold on the black market. She is in search of the latest child and becomes employed as a nanny/housekeeper and on the hunt with false information. From there everything happens, including fast paced flashbacks, violent episodes.

The DVD cover description is deceptive as it provides a mellow description that is clearly not what is described. The film is lengthy. I think I dozed off for 15 to 20 and she was still going through hell when I awoke.

There is an excellent commentary by the director and a Behind the Scenes feature. Again, if you haven't figured out the storyline, try the commentary, if not, you might need guts to view again or skip the entire movie, because there isn't enough time to try to figure it all out.....Rizzo

What an amazing film.

It reminds me of Patricia Highsmith books: slow-paced and confusing at first, developing little by little into a masterpiece that depicts how twisted and sick mankind can be. Kseniya Rappoport arrives in Trieste to do what it takes to find and get back what's been taken away from her. Some of her acts are questionable, and you will have trouble justifying her or condemning her.

If you liked Giuseppe Tornatore's A Pure Formality, starring Gerard Depardieu & Roman Polanski, you will definitely like this one. While this is a Giuseppe Tornatore movie, The Unknown Woman has nothing to do with his most famous works Malèna and Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. Kseniya Rappoport also stars in the excellent Italian thriller La Doppia Ora (The Double Hour) by Giuseppe Capotondi.

This is one of the best movies I've ever watched.

It will be released in region 1 on 7/21/09 through Image Entertainment, from a high def transfer in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16X9 TV's, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Director Commentary, behind the scenes featurette, trailer and TV spots. Hope you enjoy it again.

Not hard to follow at all, everything fits perfectly, every scene, every flashback, Tornatore is a great director and the music of Ennio Morricone keeps us on the edge of our seats on every scene as the story unveils. It's a very good movie, I highly recommend it. The actres that portrays Irena is excellent, very powerful and the little girl it's adorable. It's been a long time sice I've seen a well done film like this one.