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| Unknown - 2011 |
Coming up next we have 2011's action/thriller "Unknown", a film about a man who wakes up after an accident and discovers everything he ever knew about himself to be in doubt. His road to finding out exactly who he is leads to some surprising and dangerous circumstances.
The film's cast includes Liam Neeson, Diane Kruger, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Frank Langella, Bruno Ganz, Sebastian Koch, Mido Hamada, and Karl Markovics.
Dr. Martin Harris and his wife Liz have arrived in a snowy Berlin, Germany, to attend a biotechnology summit. Unfortunately, Martin leaves his briefcase containing his identification documents at the airport.
As his wife checks into their hotel, Martin hurries back to the airport without telling her where he is going. On the way to get his briefcase, his taxi swerves out of the way on an icy road to avoid hitting something. The car goes careening off of a bridge into the cold Spree.
Due to injuries sustained in the crash, Martin falls into a coma and ends up in the hospital for four days. Knowing that his wife has no idea what has happened to him, he checks out of the hospital the first chance he gets.
However, when he finds his wife, Liz tells him that she doesn't know who he is, which confuses Martin. She tells him and the hotel security that there has been some mistake because she has never seen this man before.
She even introduces a different man as her husband, Dr. Martin Harris. This second Martin is able to produce travel documents and other means of identification to seemingly prove who he is.
In hopes of finding some answers, Martin finds the driver of the taxi that crashed into the Spree. She now works at a diner, but he's relieved to know that she recognizes him. Her name is Gina, and she's not particularly thrilled about seeing him.
Martin also enlists the help of Ernst Jurgen, a former member of the Stasi, the East German secret police.
Gina offers Martin a place to stay, and over the course of the film they grow closer.
The quiet of Gina's apartment is interrupted by a man who comes to kill Martin. While he and Martin are fighting, Gina jabs a knife into his neck and kills him.
After doing some digging, Jurgen is able to give Martin some answers as to why he is in Berlin and his role in the biotechnology summit he came to attend.
And Martin finds out the full truth about himself when a man comes to see him and reveals that Martin is in fact an international terrorist who has set certain events in motion which this man does not want to come undone.
"You should've let me drown," says Martin after he tells Gina everything he knows. "What matters is what you do now," she replies.
Martin decides to stop the assassination of a Saudi prince and a scientist who has developed a corn plant which will grow in harsh conditions, essentially ending world hunger. The scientist wants to give this formula to the world for free, but certain parties want to exploit it for billions of dollars.
Saving these two men involves getting them out of the path of a deadly bomb that threatens to consume them all.
Happily, everything works out in the end. Martin and Gina get new identities as husband and wife, Henry and Claudia Taylor. They board a train in Berlin and head off for a new life together.
Cast rundown:
Liam Neeson.................................Dr. Martin Harris
Diane Kruger.................................Gina
January Jones................................Liz Harris
Aidan Quinn..................................Martin B.
Frank Langella...............................Rodney Cole
Bruno Ganz...................................Ernst Jurgen
Sebastian Koch..............................Professor Bressler
Mido Hamada................................Prince Shada
Karl Markovics................................Dr. Farge
And that's all for Unknown. Filming on location in Berlin was reportedly very difficult. At the time the movie was being produced, the city was undergoing the coldest winter it had seen in twenty years.
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