YNOT at the Movies

The "unknown woman" is Irena (Xenia Rappoport), a Ukrainian woman coming to Italy looking for a job as a maid. She does everything she can to become a beloved nanny for an adorable little girl Thea (Clara Dossena) from a wealthy Adacher family. However, that is just the very beginning of this "unknown" woman's unknown mission.

That is all about the plot that I want to reveal because suspense is an essential element about this film. The story is carefully constructed to keep us engaged and intrigued, even though the effort to make the film artificially suspensive is quite evident sometimes. It works, mostly.

The film uses numerous flashbacks to indicate that Irena has an unsettling past. However, the mystery surrounding her present quest is even more captivating. Although a few scenes seem to exist for the thrilling effect instead for the logic of the story, in the end, most jigsaw puzzle pieces fall into places where they belong.

The haunting music in the film is composed by the legendary composer Ennio Morricone, who received an Honorary Academy Award last year for "for his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music." It is remarkable that he composed the music for this film before the shooting. Perhaps only a master is able to do so.

With terrific performance by the lead actors and a top notch production, "The Unknown Woman" is a satisfying engrossing thriller. It will open on Friday (July 25) in theaters.

The story is probably already known to most people due to the musical. Twenty years old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) lives with her hippy mom Donna (Meryl Streep) on a beautiful Greek island, but she does not know who is her father. In order to let her unknown father give her away at her wedding, Sophie secretly invites all three possible men (Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, and Colin Firth) to the island. Their presence turns Donna's emotion, as well as Sophie's wedding, upside down.

Obviously the plot doesn't fly very high, nor convincing. However, I doubt that anybody who comes to this film would care. We will smile widely while listening to the familiar tunes, watching the hilarious choreography, enjoying the beautiful Greek scenery, and giggling at Pierce Brosnan's singing. The immensely joyful energy from this film will carry us away and we will forgive the flaws in the film. There is no need to spoil a good time by poking at this film. Let's face it, this is not meant to be a thought provoking or an emotionally touching film. It's a light hearted comedy, and a musical, with a dancing and singing Meryl Streep.

Meryl Streep and her two hippy pals, Rosie (Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baranski), are the funniest characters throughout the film. When they bounce around, in bed or not, I wonder if they are practicing before competing in next month's summer Olympics.

"Mamma Mia!" entertains us with its undeniable charm and gets us out of the chair to sing and dance with the characters, especially when the song is "Dancing Queen."

"Mamma Mia!" opens today in theaters.

Set in Paris, pediatrician Alex Beck (François Cluzet) still moans his wife after she was murdered eight years ago. After Alex receives a strange email that directs him to a video footage on the internet, he finds himself becoming a target of the police investigation while he tries to find out the truth about the crime eight year ago.

The film never stop adding more jigsaw puzzle pieces into the picture before one can make any sense from few clues that are already given. After a good half of the film, it does not slow down its pace, and continues to provoke more questions than provide any answers. That comes with a heavy price—its characters. Because the film is deliberately focused on manipulative plots to make it as complex and suspenseful as possible, it has little time left to explore its characters in depth. It takes me a while to figure out their identities and their relationships with Alex. Somehow, I do not think I am entirely responsible to feel these women all look alike in the film, except the woman who tortures using pressure point technique (点穴) —originally this is an Asian male in the novel.

Amazingly looked like Dustin Hoffman, François Cluzet terrifically plays Alex Beck, even though he is limited by his character. He can run faster than his internet connection that uploads his Yahoo Email; he is lucky that when he clicks on a strange Web address from a stranger, he does not get any computer virus. I keep asking myself, what if he does not run? To me, he does many more things that he should not do.

It would have been alright if the plot comes together at the end after the endless buildups. However, the film surprisingly provides a tell-you-everything-about-what-happened ending, like detective Poirot would do, but without the dramatic and convincing effect that Poriot orchestrates.

What a tease.

"Tell No One" opens on Friday, July 11 in Bay Area theaters.