La fille inconnue (2016)

A female doctor gets obsessed with the case of a dead woman after learning that the woman had died shortly after having rung her door for help.

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne (screenplay), Luc Dardenne (screenplay)

Stars:

Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adèle Haenel	...	Jenny Davin
Olivier Bonnaud	...	Julien
Jérémie Renier	...	Le père de Bryan
Louka Minnella	...	Bryan
Christelle Cornil	...	La mère de Bryan
Nadège Ouedraogo	...	La caissière du cybercafé
Olivier Gourmet	...	Le fils Lambert
Pierre Sumkay	...	Le père Lambert
Yves Larec	...	Le docteur Habran
Ben Hamidou	...	L'inspecteur Ben Mahmoud
Laurent Caron	...	L'inspecteur Bercaro
Fabrizio Rongione	...	Le docteur Riga
Jean-Michel Balthazar	...	Le patient diabétique
Thomas Doret	...	Lucas
Marc Zinga	...	Le proxénète

Storyline

The efficient Dr. Jenny Davin works hard and has been chosen to replace Dr. Habran, who has just retired, at the Kennedy Hospital. One night, someone rings the bell of her office after-hours and Dr. Davin asks her trainee Julien to not open the door since does not to seem an emergency. On the next morning, Police Inspectors Ben Mahmoud and Bercaro require her surveillance tape since a teenager was found dead on the other side of the road and they are investigating what happened. Jenny feels guilty for not opening the door and becomes obsessed to find the teenager's identity. Her investigation affects her relationship with patients that might know something about the unknown girl.

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Plot Keywords:

medical examination | strong female lead | strong female character | courage | forced prostitution | 

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Taglines:

Adèle Haenel is Mesmerising!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [UK]

Country:

Belgium France

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 August 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

La chica sin nombre

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Box Office

Gross USA:

$150,549, 2 November 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Fleuve,Archipel 35,Savage Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 106 min (re-edit)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Dardenne brothers re-edited La fille inconnue (2016) post-Cannes. They had originally planed to make some very minor changes but, after consultation with their editor, decided to make more extensive cuts. They made an additional 32 new edits to the film, which is now 7 minutes shorter than its original Cannes version. The new version will be unveiled at the Institute Lumiere in Lyon in June 2016 as part of a retrospective of the Dardenne brothers' films organized by Thierry Frémaux.

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Quotes

Julien: When I saw that kid having his fit, shaking all over... I saw myself when my dad hit me. All I got from him was beatings. I wanted to be a doctor to treat him or to treat myself, I don't know. Or to be a better doctor than ours who thought I bruised myself playing.

User Reviews

Belgian Mystery Thriller that is both bleak and rather good

Dr Jenny Davin is a young go getter, she is running a small practice but is destined for much better things in the filed of medicine. She has an intern/locum who she rides pretty hard and seems to be lacking in all but professional courtesies.

Then one night her practice door bell rings and she refuses to have it answered. Later she finds that it was the last attempt of a young girl to get help before she was murdered. Faced with the weight of what she has done – or rather not done – she becomes obsessed with finding out who the girl was and so begins a quest for the truth.

This is a bleak film, the town is crumbling and grey and everything has the feel of neglect – this is replicated in the way some of the people are treated and the victim is no exception. However, at the centre of it all is hope and decency and so the two are finely balanced against each other in a way that holds the yin and yang together nicely.

The acting is all great too and it will keep your attention until the final reveal. It is well written directed and shot too – so not a lot not to like – in French this is a film for those who like to an unusual plot and appreciate the smaller things that cinema has to offer.