Film · 2016

The Unknown Girl

Name: The Unknown Girl
Genre: Drama, Crime, Mystery
Released: 2016-12-02
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 6
Cast: Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier, Louka Minnella, Christelle Cornil

Original titleLa fille inconnue

Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne · starring Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud and Jérémie Renier

1 h 53 min
15
Drama · Crime · Mystery
Belgium France
Released in the UK 1 December 2016

6.0 AverageMovieNCo
6.0 Users4 votes
6.1 Critics5 reviews

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Synopsis

Jenny is a young Belgian doctor who loves his craft. One afternoon, after finishing your work session, the protagonist hears the sound of his medical center, but tired after a hard working day decided not to open the door. The next morning, sees on the news that a girl has been found dead, so he begins to feel guilty. Investigations by the police fail to reveal identity of the girl, so Jenny decides to leave in search of his name. During his intensive search, the young doctor is becoming the real discoverer of truth. The film is directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne and starring Adèle Haenel, Jérémie Renier, Olivier Gourmet, Christelle Cornil and Thomas Doret. Presented at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival feature films in the official section.

Where to watch The Unknown Girl

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Available now in the UK:

Availability checked on 8 November 2026.

The essentials

Runtime: 113 min1 hour and 53 minutes
Budget: €7mFrance 2 Cinéma
Rating: 15Suitable only for 15 years and over

How long is The Unknown Girl?: 1 hour and 53 minutes (113 minutes).
When was The Unknown Girl released in the UK?: It was released in the UK on 1 December 2016.
Who directed The Unknown Girl?: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne.
Who is in The Unknown Girl?: It stars Adèle Haenel, Olivier Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier and Louka Minnella.
Where can I watch The Unknown Girl?: In the UK it is available with a channel on Prime Video and to rent on Apple TV.

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Cast

Full cast (18)

Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Writers: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producers: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Bart Van Langendonck

Videos and trailers

See the video

'The Unknown Girl' Trailer 1:4323 November 2016

Photos and posters

All 11 photos

+3 photosand 2 posters

Reviews

All 5 reviews

6.0 4 votes

What the critics say average 6.1 from 5 outlets

7.0 VarietyGuy Lodge Though what we get is largely exemplary: a simple but urgent objective threaded with needling observations of social imbalance, a camera that gazes with steady intent into story-bearing faces, and… Read
7.0 The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney Some of the most acute pleasures here are in the doctor-patient exchanges, depicting with a rigorous absence of fuss or sentiment a relationship that's as much intimate as professional. Read
6.0 The TelegraphTim Robey It's only in the final stages of assembly that you start to realise some bits are missing. Read

Soundtrack

See the song

Bye bye docteur JennyFrançois Petit

Trivia

Marion Cotillard as the protagonist

The Dardenne brothers confessed that they plan to make this film with Marion Cotillard as the protagonist, but it did not work, so they decided to do with her 'Two Days, One Night' (2014).
Fan of Dardenne brothers

Adèle Haenel has been a fan of Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for a long time, citing La promesa (1996) and El hijo (2002) as her favorite among their works.
Re-edited

The Dardenne brothers re-edited La fille inconnue (2016) post-Cannes. They had originally planed to make some very minor changes but, after consultation with their editor, decided to make more extensive cuts. The film is now 7 minutes shorter than its original Cannes version.