The Unknown Woman
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, “The Unknown Woman” is a dramatic, thriller film out of Italy. The story is set around Irena, a Ukrainian prostitute on the run. Desperate to start a new life, she becomes determined to get a job as maid/ nanny. She goes to a high-class apartment building in Italy, and starts by getting a job cleaning the stairs. She attempts to insinuate herself into the lives of a wealthy Italian family that resides there. Desperate to inch her way into working for the family, she deliberately cripples the family’s current nanny. She gets the job and begins to develop a peculiar bond with Thea, the family’s daughter.
As the film develops we see the use of flashbacks to help unfold who the real Irena is. We learn that Irena has been physically and emotionally abused, and even forced to bear several children, all taken away at birth to be sold for adoption. Irena believes that one of these children is in fact Thea, thus why she is so determined to work for the family. After rummaging through the house Irena finds adoption papers that assure her that Thea must in fact be her daughter.
As all this is happening, Irena’s former pimp is stalking her and has people threaten her. It’s later revealed that Irena ran away from her pimp, but before doing so, she stole his money and tried to kill him. The pimp furious at Irena and her disregard for his threats, rigs the families car, leading to a crash in which Thea's mother is killed. Finally, he pimp forces Irena to take him to the money and after a struggle, he falls and is killed as he violently hits his head.
The police investigate the death of Thea’s mother and believe Irena is the murderer. Irena comes clean about everything that has happened and explains how not her but her pimp is responsible for the murder. However, she is tried, and sent to jail. At the end it is uncovered that, DNA testing reveals that Thea is not her daughter after all. However, we see many years later after she is out of jail, Thea, a young lady now waiting for her.
I believe the theme of this film is to focus on the hardships of our life. It expresses how although we may not be able to escape our paths, we should not out rule the possibilities of a future we want.
This movie is very dark and explicit; it really gives you an in depth look at the life of someone who is abused and tormented. We watch as Irena tries to escape her past but and restart her life. Unfortunately, in the end it turns out Thea is not her daughter and she is sentenced to jail. However, I believe the ending is happy because she no longer needs to run from her past and we also see that after all these years Thea has not forgotten about her and wants part in her life. I recommend this movie.
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