'The Unknown' Traps You in Someone Else's Body — and You'll Never Want to Escape.
As we drive down this French road, we are heading to an unknown destination. The end of a street that has been photographed before, but now, things have changed. What goal does he have in mind as he photographs what he sees? Does he want to re-create what has already been captured? Or, is he simply finding the inspiration in something old? From the opening sequence of Arthur Harari’s The Unknown you should prepare yourself for the unexpected. Starting off quite simple and silent, soon we are pulled into an ominous world with twists at every turn.
David Zimmerman (Niels Schneider), almost 40-years-old, is a reclusive man. None of his friends are aware of his talents or his want to be a photographer. Dragged to a party one night by his friends, a moment of eye contact with a mysterious woman (Léa Seydoux) changes his life forever. Fixated upon her mystique, she lures him away from the party alone. The next morning, David is no longer in his own body. He wakes up and finds himself in the body of the unknown woman. Lost in a completely different world, David must figure out what happened to him, or suffer the consequences.
Completely confident in his vision, Harari spends 139-minutes bringing his audience deeper into the unknown (in both senses). Starting off so simple-minded, the whirlwind begins within each scene. Harari himself knows the direction he wants to take us, but we on the other hand have no clue where David will end up. I felt caught up in the complete chaos of it all, to put it simply. The strangest camera choices, a menacing piano score steering us through, and yet also complete silence for long periods at a time. Sitting with it after it ends, I can only believe that Harari wanted us to never know, to be lost, to be in The Unknown.
Arthur Harari’s The Unknown Is a Disorienting, Mesmerizing Body-Swap Nightmare Anchored by Seydoux and Schneider
Off on a mission to find his body again, it thankfully takes only a short period before he is there, underneath a bridge. To have found his body now, means what? Is it as simple as repeating the act and switching back? If only things had not been complicated by another victim taking his body. Thus sending David and now Malia (Lilith Grasmug) to unknown territory. Working together, they must solve the mystery that has been bestowed upon them and figure out who or what this entity is, and why it continues to choose and take its victims.
The Unknown is completely unnerving and its internal concept frightening. To conceive the idea of a possession occurring through the process of sexual intercourse, blows one’s mind. Where the plot thickens is in the way both Seydoux and Schneider perform in these moments. It is not as if they are amidst the act. No, their performances are above a level of intensity that when you watch it feels as though they have an entity escaping them. The Unknown is a body switching, shape shifting, mentally deranged, some could say even horrifying film. But in this moment though, you cannot tell where the soul transfers and you cannot help but be enthralled by this spectacle.
It is truly in the performances of Seydoux and Schneider where The Unknown becomes less of a film and more of a showcase of their capabilities embodying characters. For 139-minutes there is truly little talking, almost becoming creepy itself. The characters are full on with each other, from the mysterious woman and David, to David’s body and Malia. Without words they are attracted to each other and seem to find an instant connection almost as if telepathy convinced them to do so. In the moments of the act, they do not need to do much more then simply make noise and facial expressions. It is weird to picture if you cannot see it in front of your eyes, but they are fully enthralled in their moment. A connection that changes their roles completely.
Seydoux brilliantly, to no surprise, is portraying a 40-year-old man trapped in a woman’s body. Uncomfortable in every sense, he is unsure what to do. Even simple tasks such as washing oneself feel wrong to David. Watching her performance, there is no other way to describe it either than mesmerizing. From state of complete shock to learning to understand, Seydoux need barely say a word for David’s emotions to be conveyed to the audience. Then when we get Schneider back on screen, he is no longer David. But instead his body’s soul is that of a teenage girl. As a viewer it truly feels like there is a teenage girl inside Schneider trying to burst out. And I believe that is the purpose of The Unknown, is it not? To even conceive the idea of how it is to live life if you are not who you once were. To go on living in a completely different body, environment, and even situation. That is perhaps what becomes most shocking in Harari’s feature.
As much as I fully engrossed myself into Seydoux and Schneider as their deranged and insane respective characters, The Unknown remains to be a film not made for an audience such as myself. As I had hoped to enjoy The Unknown and understand its plot, that was impossible from the get go. There are so many jarring decisions used within Harari’s piece. It feels as if even the characters themselves never know the truth. But perhaps, after sitting with it, I can begin to understand the ambiguity Harari wanted in his film. I believe Harari wanted us to experience multiple meanings just through the title of The Unknown. Unaware of where the plot will take us, the characters fading into the unknown, there are so many renditions of that one word — unknown — that we are given to explore.
It is like the idea of how we are never aware of what life might bring. But if your current path changes and you enter a strange and different territory, how do you keep on living? The idea of being trapped in a body that is not yours, lost for good. The Unknown might have its struggles, but overall it cannot be denied that you are made to think of that never ending and unknown question. Without its protagonists in Seydoux and Schneider, who knows where the film could have taken its audience. Luckily for Harari, it took us somewhere… unknown…
Grade: B-
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The Unknown / L'Inconnue (French)
Photographer David Zimmerman rarely leaves home until friends bring him to a wild party. He becomes fixated on a mysterious woman and follows her. By dawn, his life transforms – he awakens in her body.
Release Date: August 26, 2026
Director: Arthur Harari
Cast: Léa Seydoux , Niels Schneider , Victoire du Bois
