Unknown (2011)

A man awakens from a coma, only to discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one, (not even his wife), believes him. With the help of a young woman, he sets out to prove who he is.

Director:

Jaume Collet-Serra

Writers:

Oliver Butcher (screenplay), Stephen Cornwell (screenplay)

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liam Neeson	...	Dr. Martin Harris
Diane Kruger	...	Gina
January Jones	...	Elizabeth Harris
Aidan Quinn	...	Martin B
Bruno Ganz	...	Ernst Jürgen
Frank Langella	...	Rodney Cole
Sebastian Koch	...	Professor Bressler
Olivier Schneider	...	Smith
Stipe Erceg	...	Jones
Rainer Bock	...	Herr Strauss
Mido Hamada	...	Prince Shada
Clint Dyer	...	Biko
Karl Markovics	...	Dr. Farge
Eva Löbau	...	Nurse Gretchen
Helen Wiebensohn	...	Laurel Bressler

Storyline

A biochemist and his dishy wife arrive in Berlin for a conference at which a scientist and his controversial Arab funder will announce breakthrough research. While his wife checks into the hotel, he grabs a cab to return to the airport for his briefcase, left at the curb. En route, an auto accident puts him in a coma, from which he awakes four days later without identification and with gaps in his memory. He goes to the hotel: his wife refuses to recognize him and another man has claimed his identity. With help from a nurse, the cab driver, a retired Stasi agent, and an academic friend, he tries to unravel what's going on. Is the answer in the briefcase?

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Plot Keywords:

amnesia | memory loss | airport | scientist | nurse | 

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Taglines:

Take back your life.

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and action, and brief sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Kinowelt [Germany] Official site [France]

Country:

UK Germany France USA

Language:

English German Turkish Arabic

Release Date:

18 February 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unknown

Filming Locations:

Tresor, Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$21,856,389, 20 February 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$63,686,397

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,123,083

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dark Castle Entertainment, Panda Productions Inc., Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to his passport, Martin Harris was born on June 7. Liam Neeson's birthday is June 7.

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Goofs

Jurgen tells Harris that Stasi agents were taught that an innocent man always stuck to his version of truth while a liar reformulated his ideas. Actually, Stasi doctrine taught the exact opposite: a liar has invented a pre-programmed version of the facts and cannot change it, while someone innocent knows how to reformulate his speech and does it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Pilot's Voice: Ladies and gentlemen, we're beginning our descent into Berlin Tegel, where local time is 8:30 AM, and the temperature is a cool minus four degrees.
Dr. Martin Harris: Morning.
Elizabeth Harris: Did you sleep?
Dr. Martin Harris: No. I'll sleep at the hotel.

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are shown as clouds being viewed from an airplane blow past... not so crazy, except that it actually makes one of the credits unreadable.

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Connections

Featured in The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Episode #19.94 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Tchiribim
Performed by Watcha Clan
Written by Clement Queysanne & Karine Kallahoun (SACEM)
Courtesy of Songs for Film & TV obo Piranha Musik

User Reviews

Involving and well interpreted action-thriller

The movie sounds intriguing since from the beginning and keeps its sense of mystery and intrigue till the end: this is a good quality, once reminding Hitchcock's thrillers, with the difference that in "Unknown" the thrilling aspect cannot be separated from the frenzy typical of action movies. The result is an entertaining, involving pic, never losing its strong and quick rhythm and letting the viewer staying attached to the screen till the end. Set in a depressing Berlin covered by snow, always marked by the sad signs of a more or less distant past, a good photography gets to capture the overall gloomy atmosphere of the story and the mystery of a character whose vicissitudes seem as much incomprehensible as much needing some resolution, and an effective final twist as well. Liam Neeson plays skillfully, although not always sufficiently expressive, he gets to convey the sense of void of someone looking for some identity. A stand-out performance is offered by Bruno Ganz and also Diane Kruger supports Neeson quite well. Certainly not a masterpiece, but worth the ticket.