The Unknown Girl

The last thing one expected was for the Belgian Dardenne brothers to dote on a murder mystery, particularly one involving a medico turned amateur sleuth that's fraught with coincidence like so much of what's already out there.

The question that looms large here, lingering long after the closing credits, is whether, despite our human need for forgiveness, absolution is ever truly possible.

Jenny's search is a quest for atonement, not only for herself, but also for others. A physician of the body, she becomes a kind of physician of the soul, her clinic office a secular confessional, sealed by her ethic of doctor-patient confidentiality.

What it vibrantly presents, however, is her modest yet determined resilience in the face of a multitude of tiny threats. And that makes both Jenny and The Unknown Girl quietly heroic.