Here’s an interview with Giuseppe Tornatore, talking about his movie “La Sconosciuta” – the unknown woman. It’s been badly translated by me but it’s very interesting so I hope I did it justice. He says he chose Kseniya Rappoport for the lead role because he wanted “an unknown” in the middle of other actors who were very well known.
How was La sconosciuta conceived?
The story was born from an article I read in the paper many years ago: a woman who together with her husband, had children and sold them to other people. I told a different story but I started my research with this story. I chose a mystery as a key to the story because I think that today we don’t tell crime movies well. It isn’t a film about justice, it’s the social elements of a crime story that were important to me, but I didn’t feel compelled to necessarily stick to the facts.
The film was made in Trieste but the city isn’t recognizable; why?
The city had to be imaginary to avoid the risk of giving the characters connotations that were too literal. Trieste seemed like the right city because I enjoyed transforming the realistic stage of the event.
Were you thinking of the Russian heroines of the popular novels of the 19th century when you created the character of Irena?
No, in fact when I realized that it was suffering from this allusion I changed everything. The stage presence of Xenia, (Kseniya Rappoport) her face reminds you of those heroines.Her strong character and her determination, the will to take back the part of her life that had gotten away from her reminds you of that tradition but I worked hard to cut that element from the film.
How did you choose the cast?
Choosing this cast was simple, I wanted to respect the heart of the story and I needed someone unknown (Kseniya Rappoport) in the middle of a group of known faces to get the result that I wanted. They were all very generous, having accepted roles that were uncomfortable and difficult.
What was your inspiration for a film so violent and bloody?
My first film was very hard and violent, so it’s not a completely foreign idea to me – I actually like it. The story is very simple and developed on its own. It wasn’t inspired consciously n any model or style of story. It’s clear that the films that we make are influenced by the journey in making them. There were violent and bloody films before Tarantino.
How was the ending conceived?
One of the themes of the film is that today we delegate everything to others, even the management of affection. I liked seeing what would happen to someone who became invested in the management of the emotions of others. The main character makes a big emotional investment and it seemed right that it served her and the story at the same time.
What was most difficult during the filming?
The most difficult thing was working with a chid, and I’m an expert…this time I was afraid. They were fortunate to find a child so little and yet so intelligent and with parents that were so generous to let me work with her.
I Love Italian Everything 