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The Unknown Girl

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The Unknown Girl
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Fille inconnue
Directed byJean-Pierre Dardenne
Luc Dardenne
Written by
  • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
  • Luc Dardenne
Produced by
  • Jean-Pierre Dardenne
  • Luc Dardenne
  • Denis Freyd
Starring
CinematographyAlain Marcoen
Edited byMarie-Hélène Dozo
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Cinéart (Belgium)
  • Diaphana (France)
Release dates
  • 18 May 2016 (2016-05-18) (Cannes)
  • 5 October 2016 (2016-10-05) (Belgium)
  • 12 October 2016 (2016-10-12) (France)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Belgium
  • France
LanguageFrench
Budget$7 million
Box office$2.4 million[2]

The Unknown Girl (French: La Fille inconnue) is a 2016 mystery drama film directed by the Dardenne brothers, and starring Adèle Haenel, Jérémie Renier, and Louka Minnella.[3]

The Unknown Girl was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.[4][5] The film was released in Belgium on 5 October 2016 by Cinéart and in France on 12 October 2016 by Diaphana.[6]

Plot

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Jenny Davin, a hard-working young Belgian doctor, is wrapping up her days at a small free clinic in Liège, having accepted a new job at a larger practice. She is exhausted after a long day of seeing patients and dealing with her petulant intern, Julien. When the buzzer rings after hours, Jenny instructs Julien to ignore it. The next day, Jenny is devastated to hear that the person who rang the buzzer the previous night, a young African woman, was found dead by the river, her skull fractured. Surveillance footage shows the young woman running away from someone and banging on the clinic door in desperation. Guilt-ridden, Jenny is determined to find out who the unknown girl was.

Cast

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  • Adèle Haenel as Jenny Davin, a young physician
  • Olivier Bonnaud as Julien, a medical school student
  • Jérémie Renier as Bryan's father
  • Louka Minnella as Bryan
  • Christelle Cornil as Bryan's mother
  • Nadège Ouedraogo as cashier at the cybercafé
  • Olivier Gourmet as Lambert's son
  • Pierre Sumkay as Monsieur Lambert
  • Yves Larec as Doctor Habran, retired owner of the clinic
  • Ben Hamidou as Inspector Ben Mahmoud
  • Laurent Caron as Inspector Bercaro
  • Fabrizio Rongione as Doctor Riga
  • Myriem Akheddiou as Doctor Riga's assistant
  • Jean-Michel Balthazar as diabetic patient
  • Thomas Doret as Lucas
  • Marc Zinga as pimp

Production

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In April 2015, Adèle Haenel joined the cast of the film, with the Dardenne brothers, Luc and Jean-Pierre, directing from a screenplay they wrote.[7] The Unknown Girl is produced through the directors' Belgian company Les Films du Fleuve in collaboration with the French company Archipel 35. Filming began in October 2015 and ended on 22 December.[8]

The film was shot in chronological order.[9]

Release

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The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2016.[4][5] Sundance Selects had previously acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.[10] Mixed critical response to the film led to the Dardenne brothers making extensive cuts after Cannes, shortening the film by seven minutes than the original cut premiered at the festival. Luc Dardenne stated that "There are several critics who are also friends who liked it a lot but thought there were certain places in the film that didn’t work very well. I believe it was that which prompted our concern. We were ready to make changes." The new cut was officially shown in June at the Institut Lumière in Lyon, France.[11][12][13] The film was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival,[14][15] and the New York Film Festival on 12 October 2016.[16][17] The film was released in Belgium on 5 October 2016[18] and in France on 12 October 2016.[6]

In the United Kingdom, the BBC Four broadcast was on 30 March 2019.[19]

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 70% approval rating based on 80 reviews, with an average score of 6.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Unknown Girl isn't quite up to the standards of the Dardenne brothers' best work, but remains a well-acted effort that pays poignant – albeit limited – dividends."[20] At Metacritic, the film received a score of 65 out of 100 based on 21 reviews from mainstream critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]

References

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  1. ^ "The Unknown Girl (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  2. ^ "The Unknown Girl (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  3. ^ "The Unknown Girl". Wild Bunch. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (14 April 2016). "2016 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ a b Debruge, Peter; Keslassy, Elsa (14 April 2016). "Cannes 2016: Film Festival Unveils Official Selection Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  6. ^ a b Raup, Jordan (18 July 2016). "First Trailer for Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Cannes Drama 'The Unknown Girl'". The Film Stage. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  7. ^ Jaugernauth, Kevin (23 April 2015). "César Winner Adèle Haenel To Lead Dardenne Brothers Next Film 'The Unknown Girl'". IndieWire. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  8. ^ Engelen, Aurore (21 October 2015). "The Dardenne brothers shooting La Fille inconnue". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  9. ^ Maksimiuk, Magdalena (3 September 2017). "Interview: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne on The Unknown Girl". Slant Magazine.
  10. ^ McNary, Dave (14 April 2016). "Cannes: Sundance Selects Buys U.S. Rights to 'Graduation,' 'Unknown Girl'". Variety. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  11. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (28 June 2016). "Dardenne brothers re-edit Cannes drama 'The Unknown Girl'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  12. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (28 June 2016). "Dardenne Brothers Re-Edit 'The Unknown Girl' in Response to Critics". Variety. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  13. ^ Mazzanti, Mike (28 June 2016). "The Dardennes Have Re-Edited 'The Unknown Girl' For Theatrical Release". The Film Stage. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  14. ^ Vlessing, Etan (16 August 2016). "Toronto: Christian Bale-Starrer 'The Promise,' Richard Gere-Starrer 'Norman' Get Gala Screenings". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  15. ^ "The Unknown Girl". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  16. ^ Cox, Gordon (9 August 2016). "New York Film Festival Loads 2016 Main Slate With Festival-Circuit Favorites". Variety. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  17. ^ "The Unknown Girl". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  18. ^ "La Fille Incounne". Cinéart. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  19. ^ "The Unknown Girl (2016)". Radio Times.
  20. ^ "The Unknown Girl (La fille inconnue) (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  21. ^ "The Unknown Girl Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
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