The Unknown Woman

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La Sconosciuta
(The Unknown Woman)
Italian Original Theatrical Poster
Directed byGiuseppe Tornatore
Written byGiuseppe Tornatore,
Massimo De Rita
Produced byLaura Fattori,
Franco Committeri
StarringKseniya Rappoport,
Michele Placido,
Claudia Gerini,
Margherita Buy,
Pierfrancesco Favino,
Alessandro Haber,
Ángela Molina
CinematographyFabio Zamarion
Edited byMassimo Quaglia
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
Distributed byMedusa Film
Release dates
October 20 2006 (Italy)
July 11 2007 (France)
April 4 2008 (US)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryItaly Italy
LanguageItalian

La sconosciuta (2006) also The Unknown Woman (U.S. release title, 2008) or The Other Woman is an enigmatic Italian psychological thriller mystery film, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore that depicts a woman alone in a foreign country, haunted by a horrible past, and in search of a lost daughter.

Plot

Irena (Kseniya Rappoport), a Ukrainian prostitute on the run, is determined to find a job in an elegant apartment building in northern Italy, and starts by cleaning the stairs. She does it in order to inch her way into working for a family residing in that building. She befriends Gina (Piera Degli Esposti), the nanny of the family's child, Thea (Clara Dossena), who also lives with them in their apartment. When the nanny is crippled in a fall -- tripped by Irena -- but presumed to be accidental, Irena is hired to take her place.[1] Through flashbacks, viewers learn that Irena has been physically and emotionally abused, and forced to bear nine children, all taken away at birth to be sold to adoptive families. After stabbing her pimp and leaving him for dead, she sets out to find her youngest child, whom she believes is Thea; hence the plot to work for them. Adoption documents in the apartment convince her that Thea is indeed her daughter. The mother grows suspicious of Irena and fires her, despite the loving relationship that has grown up between Irena and the child. Irena's pimp stalks her and sends out thugs to beat her up as she walks down the street. He rigs her employer's car, leading to a crash in which Thea's mother is killed. The pimp forces Irena to drive him to a location that may or may not contain the money Irena stole from him when she left him for dead. During a struggle, he falls and is killed as his head hits a rock. Thea's father moves to a new apartment and prepares a room for Irena, but as the police suspect foul play around the death of Thea's mother, Irena is taken into custody. She reveals both that the true culprit is the pimp and that she killed him. She is tried, and sent to jail. Thea stops eating until the judge allows Irena to visit her in the hospital and feed her. DNA testing reveals that Thea is not her daughter after all. After she is out of jail, she finds Thea, a young lady now waiting for her.

Awards and nominations

  • Moscow Film Festival (Russia)
    • Won: Audience Award (Giuseppe Tornatore; tied with Molière)
    • Won: Silver St. George – Best Director (Giuseppe Tornatore)
    • Nominated: Golden St. George (Giuseppe Tornatore)

References

  1. ^ http://www.jff.org.il/?CategoryID=483&ArticleID=376

External links

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