FAQ

The film is based on the 2003 French novel Hors de moi (2003), published in English as Out of My Head, by French author Didier Van Cauwelaert. The novel was adapted for the movie by screenwriters Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell.

Doctor Martin Harris (Liam Neeson), a biochemist on his way to a summit conference in Berlin (Germany), discovers that he's left his briefcase and passport at the airport. While wife Elizabeth "Liz" (January Jones) checks into their hotel, Martin takes a cab back to the airport to retrieve his luggage. On his way there, his cab is involved in an accident, and he is taken to a hospital where he spends the next four days in a coma. When he awakens, he returns to the hotel only to find that another man is claiming to be Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn) that Liz is treating the imposter as though he really is her husband. With the help of illegal alien Gina (Diane Kruger), the cab driver who pulled him out of the wreck, Martin tries to unravel who he is and what is happening to him.

Presumably, Martin was frantic about leaving his briefcase at the airport, grabbed the very next taxi to pull up to the hotel entrance, and figured to call Liz on the way. The real reason is that, for purposes of the plot, he couldn't be seen checking into the hotel by the hotel staff or on the closed circuit camera. If he had, that would confirm that he and Liz arrived together, which would completely change the story.

Yes. In an attempt to prove that he is the real Dr Martin Harris, Martin contacts Ernst Jürgen, an ex-agent in the East German Stasi, short for Ministerium für Staatssicherheit [The Ministry for State Security]. The Stasi was headquartered in East Berlin and was regarded as one of the most effective secret police agencies in the world.

Three. First there was the taxi that was hit by a large container while Gina was taking Martin back to the airport. This is the accident that sent the taxi into the water and resulted in Martin's head injury. The second was Biko's taxi that was demolished by a streetcar after being chased by Jones. The third was the taxi she "borrowed" to follow Martin when he was carried off by his old friend Rodney Cole (Frank Langella).

Yes. Calochortus albus (Fairy Lantern) is a native California plant in the Lily family. Umbellularia californica (California Bay) is a native California tree that resembles a bay laurel.

Viewers who have seen Unknown have likened it several other movies that feature a man (or a woman) who loses his memory and must search to find out who he is, often with dangerous repercussions. These include Frantic (1988) (1988), The Bourne Identity (2002) (2002), Total Recall (1990) (1990), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) (1996), Blind Horizon (2003) (2003), Mirage (1965) (1965), As Good as Dead (1995) (1995) and Memento (2000) (2000). There is also a whole other story, also titled Unknown (2006) (2006), involving a group of several men who are uncertain of their own identities and in very awkward situation together.