CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

petra_ste Moody thriller and effective drama, La Sconosciuta ranks with Nuovo Cinema Paradiso and La Leggenda del Pianista sull'Oceano among Tornatore's best movies.Mysterious Irena infiltrates an upper-class family, while at the same time sinister people from her past stalk her. The way her story unravels is compelling, character work canny. Protagonist Kseniya Rappoport, with her gaunt face and haunted eyes, is phenomenal: she is both bitter and frail, sinister and pitiable. Supporting performances are strong.La Sconosciuta is also surprisingly moving, earning its pathos by not pulling any punch. The main character's actions are often unsettling in spite of her sympathetic motivation, which we slowly understand through the film.Master Ennio Morricone adds another magnificent soundtrack to his resume.7,5/10

Armand or huge window. the bird - love in many forms. the material - search of profound answers. a beautiful woman from East. a family. a girl. and the mud of past. result - a very cruel film. cruel not only for images or tension of events. not for levels of story. but for the powerful search of truth. for the skin, bones and blood of sacrifice. for the air of hope. for impressive acting of Michele Placido. an art movie. but not in its entire dimension. more important - a reflection to ordinary world problems. a fight far from any definition. and a victory. touching, strong, heavy victory against exterior demons but , in essence, against yourself, against shadows of fear . a Christian story. maybe, just a parable.

FilmCriticLalitRao One of the most positive aspects of "La Sconosciuta"/The Unknown Woman concerns emotional crisis affecting the morale of affluent European families.This has been depicted without resorting to even an ounce of sensationalism.Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore shows how personal lives of young professional couples are getting affected due to differences of opinion.His film depicts how a middle class family completely loses control over their only child.This is meant to be a foundation on which the film rests but the story is shaped in such a unique manner that viewers also get to have an idea about servants from different east European nations.There is no documentary cinema type realism in scenes where foreigners try to get themselves regularized. This is exactly one department where the film goes out of control as viewers are shown glimpses of how women are sold on Italian soil.It is not clear what Italian cinema author Tornatore wanted to convey as his film appears much too flashy.It jumps from thriller to family drama to social statement all at same time.In a way,this would surely confuse viewers as it is expected that they would like to enjoy one thing at a time.

Coventry "The Unknown Woman" is a peculiar and nearly unclassifiable film from Italy; usually my favorite movie-producing country when it comes to thrillers, horror and cult movies. The plot slowly unfolds like a grim and mystifying thriller with authentic Giallo and sleaze aspects, but gradually turns into an overly sentimental drama with a disappointing soap-opera denouement. Not that this is a bad film (how can it be with all the prestigious awards it received?) but if you were hoping for a perplexing thriller, your hunger will not be stilled. Giuseppe Tornatore, the director of the legendary "Cinema Paradiso", presents an extremely convoluted and oddly structured story, but shares only very little information with the viewer. "The Unknown Woman" remains a labyrinth until quite late in the film, and then still you remain behind with a whole lot of questions and illogicalness. The events jump back and forth between the curious mission of a Ukrainian woman in Italy and the traumatizing adventures of a blond-wigged prostitute in a pauperized neighborhood. It honestly takes a little while before you're a hundred percent certain this is one and the same person. But yes, the elegant and sophisticated 32-year-old Irena apparently spent most of her teenage years and twenties in the East-European sex industry. She now attempts to infiltrate as a governess/maid in a wealthy Italian household, but it's not immediately clear why. She clearly doesn't need the money, as she has a roll of cash in her pocket and promptly affords herself an apartment and driving lessons, but nevertheless she's desperate enough to even assault the current nanny in order to take her place in the Adacher family. Approximately halfway through, the attentive viewer begins to suspect where the main storyline is leading towards, but then there still are plenty enough bizarre twists to keep you contemplating. It would be a shame to reveal too much beforehand, but rest assured the questions and doubts will keep coming to you long after the film has finished as well. Purely talking from a cinematic point of view, "The Unknown Woman" is an enchanting and ultimately stylish experiment. Tornatore creates a hypnotizing melancholic atmosphere through slow pacing and depressing imagery (there are hardly any colors in this film) and Ennio Morricone once more proved that he's still the world's greatest composer of chilling film music; even at age 78. Wondrous performances from lead actresses Xenia Rappoport and Claudia Gerini and particularly from Michele Placido as the genuinely menacing and terrifying bald pimp Muffa.