The Unknown Girl

What a wonderful film this is! The Dardenne brothers combine a human drama and a police procedural to make a riveting film. One night, an exhausted female doctor, who has already worked a very long day, does not answer the buzzer on the door at her clinic and a woman dies. Her assistant, equally guilty, quits medicine, but the young doctor refuses to give up until she at least finds out the woman’s name and gives her a decent burial. From here, the story is both tense and heroic – as the young doctor doggedly searches for the woman’s identity, regardless of how hopeless her quest seems or how much personal danger she risks. Adele Henael plays Dr. Jenny Davin with a compassion and determination that never turns maudlin or silly. A great performance in a very fine film that reminded me how powerful cinema still can be.

It is a Belgian movie about guilt, responsibility and consciousness. A young ambitious female doctor hears a buzz on her office's intercom. Because it is after hours, she decides not to answer it which leads to a tragic event that is going to change her career plans and the whole life. The movie is made in the best traditions of Belgian cinematography, directed by Dardenne brothers. It is not flashy but profound. The doctor works in the working class neighborhood where people keep their emotions to themselves. Even though the movie could be classified as a crime drama, the crime is not the main part of it but rather a frame to focus on phycological aspect of this drama. The main protagonist Dr. Davin is played by Adele Haenel who in my opinion is a rising star. In French with English subtitles.