Day 12. La Fille Inconnue (2016)

La Fille Inconnue

Trailer

https://youtu.be/QDHviyB0BB4

Available to rent or buy on YouTube. 
Available on Kanopy (free via your library)
Available at SBS On Demand (free)

English Title

The Unknown Girl

Year

2016

Director

Luc et Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Synopsis

Jenny, a young general practitioner, feels guilty for not having opened the door of her practice to a girl who is found dead shortly after. On learning from the police that they have no way of identifying her, Jenny has only one goal: to discover the name of the young girl so that she will not be buried anonymously – so that she will not disappear as if she had never lived.

Honours/Awards

• Compétition Officielle Festival De Cannes 2016

Adèle’s role

Dr Jenny Davin, a young medical general practitioner.

Excerpts from reviews

“The film may be mid-tier, but Adèle Haenel joins the rich tradition of superb lead performances in Dardennes-directed dramas… a camera that gazes with steady intent into story-bearing faces, and an especially riveting example of one in their gifted, toughly tranquil leading lady Adèle Haenel… the film serves chiefly as a showcase for the wonderful Haenel. Proving, in her first collaboration with the brothers, an intuitive thespian match for their delicate, not-overly-demonstrative emotional intelligence, she works softly against the grain of her character’s general goodness—playing up the moments of cold internal panic and silent judgment that lead her, not always fairly, to doubt her own compassion.”

https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/the-unknown-girl-review-1201777516/

“Haenel is mesmerising in The Unknown Girl, but where Driver, say, is a captivating presence in Paterson because he’s essentially absent, Haenel is absolutely present in every shot of the film, her intense but utterly calm concentration holding our attention, although she’s almost never called on to emote on screen in the conventional sense.”

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/unknown-girl-first-look

Comments

I like graphics on the Italian version of the DVD, because the graphics frame Jenny as an unknown girl, the young woman who dies in the film is not the only unknown girl. The film frames Jenny as unknown—she does not interact with any friends or family, even when making major life decisions or going through very difficult times. Jenny also faces much violence from men and knows that being a woman makes her vulnerable. This DVD cover conveys that unknown-ness more than the more usual graphics used with this film. (However, the Italian title of the film translates to "The Girl Without a Name", which points clearly to the migrant girl who is killed, rather than Jenny...).

The Dardenne Brothers, Luc and Jean-Pierre, are legendary Belgian filmmakers, having won two Palm D’Or Awards and having been nominated for six more (including for this film). Le Fille Inconnue received a good, but not exultant, reception at Cannes, and mixed reviews, but Adèle’s performance was universally well received. For an interesting contrast check out the Fin de Projection of Le Fille Inconnue and that of Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu. The vibe feels a bit different, but that may be because Portrait had such a strong 'team' feeling, whereas with La Fille Inconnue it was Adèle pretty much alone.. [If you ever feel a bit down watch the Fin de Project of Portrait de Fille en Feu for a feel good pick-me-up.]

Their selection of Adèle for this role is, again a major recognition of her talents. Indeed, they reworked the film so that she could be in it, as the role had been written for an older woman.

Interview with the Dardenne Brothers:

"Was Adèle Haenel your first choice to play the doctor?

[Luc Dardenne] Let me tell you what happened: when we were working on the screenplay, we had an elder female doctor in mind. We had never seen Adèle in any of her films, but then we accidentally met with her in Paris at an event of La Société des Auteurs where we all were awarded. She got an award for her film “Suzanne” [2013]. So we saw her there and when we looked at her face, she had this simple, innocent look as if she would never be involved in any kind of intrigues. And then we thought, what if we’d rewrite our screenplay with a young doctor, with Adèle in mind, to play the character. So that’s what we did for the next few months, and then we asked our French producer if he could call Adèle and ask her if she’d like to work with us. She agreed right away, and that’s how we cast her. So we never considered any other actress.”

https://filmtalk.org/2016/09/19/jean-pierre-and-luc-dardenne-make-sure-you-dont-become-a-prisoner-of-your-own-awards/

Olivier Gourmet, a Dardenne Brothers’ regular who plays the van owner, will also appear with Adèle in Un Roi son Peuple later in the film festival. 

Rewatch Comments

In re-watching this film there are many things that I like—for once we get Adèle Haenel in every scene of a film—and she is wonderful in every one of them! This can only be a good thing for us, though it must have been exhausting filming for her. Again, Adèle portrays her character with much nuance and giving us insights into the internal turmoil and agony that the young doctor is experiencing. When re-watching, the repeated violence against Dr Jenny is stark and confronting. She is abused (physically and verbally) by patients, thugs, the van owner, and even by her teenage patient and his father. The theme of the vulnerability of women and the violence of men towards women is a theme throughout the film.

Adèle's portrayal of the doctor in general practice in a less well-off neighbourhood is so caring and gentle; looking after the needs of each patient and open and accepting of each person as they are. Dr Jenny Davin is the GP we all would like to have (but maybe GPs like that only exist in films...). I like the human touch of her happily accepting gifts of food from her patients—and then that being her dinner sometimes...

What is it with smoking in French & Belgian films? Yesterday in Les Ogres we had a heavily pregnant woman smoking (yes, I know her character was meant to be a wild & carefree), and today we have a medical doctor smoking (no excuses there)... I can only (almost) forgive the smoking scene in Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu because at that time they didn't know the harm smoking causes... Smoking is so rarely seen in non-European films; it is only used to signify something—usually negative—about the character, not just as something every one does (because they don't).

Jenny's heavy woollen coat is also a bit of a star of the film. It reminded me a little of the jumper the detective wears in "The Bridge" that developed its own fan base... : ) 

[I couldn't remember which TV show the jumper was in , so I googled "scandi noir jumper" and got it first shot.]

Although this film is mostly definitely gritty and represents the less shiny parts of Belgian society, it also gives hope that there are good people trying their best.