The Unknown Woman

This movie had one depressing tug on the heart after another. You never knew what was going to happen to the Irena, the female lead, next. 

The movie starts with Irena as a Ukrainian prostitute. When I think of a prostitute I more so think of a woman who for whatever reason is willingly selling their body as opposed to Irena who was more of a sex slave. I never really understood how Irena ended up in the middle of the prostitution world but while continuing to watch the movie and learn of her plights that became that particular how became irrelevant.

It’s hard to love when every second of your everyday is governed by some sort of hate or blatant negativity. Some how, in the midst of dust and clouds Irena found a ray of hope in someone that loved her in spite of herself. The great master plan in head was that she was going to escape her world and live happily ever after with her love. Her “keeper”, who had a found eye for her, found out about her love affair and put a disgraceful jealous end to her romance and her lover’s life. He seemed to operate with the idea that “if I can’t have you, no one can”.

What’s a girl to do? There’s no where to hide and no one to run to for help. The movie took a classic lifetime movie turn when Irena set out to reclaim her life and kill her “keeper”. If watching life time movies teaches you anything it is to always make sure your prey is really dead before you part ways. This is a lesson that Irena came across after the fact after she skipped off thinking the darkest of her days were over and her “keeper’s” money.

Because of Irena’s past she had a hard time trusting people and found confidence within a mere few. Those few had a hard time trusting her seeing as how they knew her past and felt that she was now putting there safety in jeopardy. Low and behold Irena’s keeper was not dead and came back to claim what was his; his money and her body. 

The movie, which was told with the assistance of flashbacks, informed the audience Irena believed that she knew where at least on of the many children that she gave birth to was indeed the little girl that she hired to take of. Despite the striking resemblance the girl and Irena had to one another, Irena’s world was once again shattered upon the discovery that her assumption was 100% wrong.

Fortunately Irena and I have no actual connection to each other but as a woman I couldn’t help but feel her highs and her lows. No one wants to have a love stripped from them. A love that a sane mother has for her children is uncompromiseable  no matter how near or far. To be refused that privilege of untainted love is devastatingly hear wrenching.  Though Irena had one rock bottom level after another she still found the strength to triumph daily.