Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
Filmmakers are often generous in their observations and perspectives, showing less judgment toward the “other” and balancing the opposing side of the equation. “Unidentified,” directed by Saudi Arabian filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour—one of Saudi Arabia’s first and finest female directors (“Wadjda,” “Mary Shelley”)—reflects her universal, inclusive, and intelligent sensibility. Now living in California, al-Mansour emerges from a Saudi film culture that is increasingly thriving amid significant reforms: women may now drive and travel, hair coverings are a matter of personal choice, and male permission is no longer required for women to work.
“Unidentified” cements one’s attention from the commencement to the compelling conclusion; a twenty-nine-year-old divorced woman, “Noelle Al Saffan, Nawal” (Mila al-Zahrani) working at a police station becomes obsessed with the death of a young woman, unknown; the unraveling of the scenario conveys the deepest, darkest reflections on a male dominated society where archaic limitations are overwhelming alive and throbbing. Intimate cinematography pulls viewers into a web of obfuscation, where women replace men as objects of deceit, duplicity. Femineity and its strappings (makeup) is prioritized and aids Nawal in her quest for the killer.
The controversial, twisted enigmatic ending leaves viewers in a state of contentment or confoundment.
THREE & ½ STARS!!!
Peneflix
