The Unknown Woman @ the Lavazza Italian Film Festival
October 13th 2008 22:44
It seems nauseatingly fitting, then, that my final screening would be of Guiseppe Tornatore's 2006 feature film, "The Unknown Woman", a brutally realistic depiction of the tormented lives of enslaved women in Europe.
Tornatore's last big selling movie was "Malena", a wonderfully nostalgic film about wartime Italy that starred Monica Belluci as the most desirable woman in the entire country. It ended in tragedy, and with "The Unknown Woman", Tornatore takes off the gloves, smashing the audience with brutal images of pain and degradation.
Irina, played by Kseniya Rappoport, is an immigrant to Italy from Ukraine, and from the beginning of the film, we feel uneasy. She prowls the street, holding a big wad of cash, but looking for lowly cleaning jobs, picking out an apartment with a view of another apartment.
This is the stuff of atmospheric thrillers, and the sense of dread only increases in tempo as the movie continues. We learn, through discordant, nonlinear flashbacks, that Irina was a prostitute in Ukraine, subjugated to the worst abuse possible.
At some point, the viewer will feel that they understand what's going on. You'll start to predict the end - after all, the loose ends of the story have been tied neatly together, in a pretty little bow. There's nothing left to horrify you.
This is when Tornatore rips off the mask and we're shown some of the most reprehensible deeds forced on these poor women. Why do they stay? They're literally slaves, chained up in an abandoned grain elevator, hordes of drunk, angry men cavorting and dancing outside, waiting for their turn to force themselves on their victims.
The subject matter is so powerful that the entire audience seemed stunned; this was heavy stuff for an Australian audience on a Monday evening, even as we planned our Saturday beach excursions and brunch meetings. How many other ravaged human beings pass by our windows and faces everyday? How many terrifying stories are lying in wait?
"The Unknown Woman" was screened as part of "Best of the Fest" at the Lavazza Italian Film Festival.
I say: Dark and upsetting, "The Unknown Woman" aims to show us the darkest parts of human existence, as if the director thought, what's the worst thing possible? Unfortunately, he relies too much on the modern cinema cliche of nonlinear flashbacks, which I'm starting to find quite wearying.
See it for: Clara Dossena plays the little curly-haired girl, and she's a delight to watch, with her big, expressive eyes.
*this image is from the Italian Film Commission
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