L'inconnue

After a long time, a new Tornatore film. After the second viewing I decided to write a comment about it.

When people talk about a film by Giuseppe Tornatore, they think of Sicily first with it's burning sun and it's orange villages. This is one of his darker films, if not his darkest (on par with Il Camorrista).

As sound as the first fade in of this film appeared, I was hooked. I will not spoil anything, but you'll see some pretty powerful stuff. The story is complicated and important, so giving examples might spoil something, so I focus on the experience of this film itself.

I have never seen most of the actors in this (except Placido), but they all did an amazing job. Kseniya Rappoport is so great in this film that it's just haunting. Her performance is a winner without doubt, but the supportive cast never seems shy to make their emotions as real as they can.

The shots that this film uses are great. All Tornatore films are beautiful, but this one is a real dark gem. As him and few other can do, he makes the world real.

The script is strong. I cannot just define it as a drama, because that is a vague term. It's also a disturbing film with a warm touch (a heartbreaking plot that twists in a good way).

Ennio Morricone wrote the score. I am a great fan of him and I must say that even now, being 77, he is still the top composer in the entire industry. With his score for La Sconosciuta he surprised me. Again. This man is so amazing that I curse the Academy awards every day for ignoring him for more than 40 years.

So is there nothing bad about La Sconosciuta? Yes there is; the DVD is only available in Italy. I bought one with English subtitles so I have little problem watching it, but this can be quite a damper on it's international fame. I hope this one gets a great international release, both in cinema and on DVD. Great pieces of art should not be kept indoors.

I give it 10 out of 10. The best of 2006 and perfect in every way.

We have been waiting for Tornatore since Malena, in 2000, and now he has come back with this drama/ thriller, with a rather melodramatic plot inspired by the often very tragic news stories about the exploitation of women from East Europe in Italy. The main character, the Ukranian Irena, played by the wonderful and hardly known Russian stage actress Xenia Rappoport, has something very mysterious about her. She pursues an obscure aim, concerning the young Italian couple whom she works for and their 5 years old daughter. At the beginning the film has something very hitchcockian about it, then it turns to melodrama, with many emotional moments (don't forget your hankies!) There are few very hard scenes, with much violence, mental and physical. Tornatore does the usual good work. In this film he could count on a capital cast, including, besides Rappoport, the cream of the crop of Italian acting: an hairless and extremely sleazy Michele Placido, the very good Claudia Gerini and Pierfrancesco Favino, Alessandro Haber, Piera degli Esposti and Margherita Buy, who agreed to appear just a few minutes by the end of the film. Clara Dossena, the child actress who play one of the key characters of the film, is not only incredibly cute, but also much talented. A very remarkable thing is the score by maestro Ennio Morricone. Some critics said it's too invasive, but God, it's beautiful. I think you will love the sweet and heartbreaking "Lullaby theme". On the whole, a convincing film. Probably the best of the first Roma Film Festival. My rating is 8/10

"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"!

The Ukranian Irena (Xenia Rappoport) arrives in the city of Velarchi, rents an expensive but simple apartment and seeks a job as a servant in the building in the other side of the street. Then she manages to work for the wealthy couple of gold dealers Adacher, and occasionally babysitting their little daughter Tea (Clara Dossena), who has a rare neurological disease that leaves the little girl without self-defense against any sort of aggression or accident. While working for the family, she is haunted by recollections from her mysterious past of prostitution and violence in Ukrania. However, her nightmares come true when she meets her former pimp that she believed had died. "La Sconosciuta" is a surprisingly solid and original Italian thriller, with an engaging dramatic story disclosed like a puzzle through a non-linear screenplay. I saw this movie on DVD with a group of friends with low expectation and we found it so good that we never dare to stop the film to make any comment, or drink water or go to a toilet so absorbed we were with the story. The direction of Giuseppe Tornatore from "Cinema Paradiso" is outstanding, with top-notch performances of Xenia Rappoport, Clara Dossena and the cast. The resolution of the plot is excellent and never corny. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "A Desconhecida" ("The Unknown")

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.