For the first half of Haifaa Al Mansour's Unidentified, you're likely to think that you've stumbled into your fairly typical whodunnit albeit in an atypical setting (at least for American moviegoers). However, it's at that point that Unidentified, fresh off its screening at Tribeca, really starts to pick up. 

Noelle (Mila Al Zahrani) is a newly divorced, true crime aficionado who is drawn into the mystery of a lifeless teenage girl whose body is found in the desert. Her presence, at least initially, is merely a formality as authorities merely needed a female presence to investigate the girl's body. Noelle, however, finds herself increasingly determined to identify the body and uncover the truth in a culture where the case could have just as easily been cast away as a cold case. 

Haifaa Al Mansour's first film Wadjda was the first film to ever be shot entirely in Saudia Arabia, and Al Mansour was the first Saudi Arabian woman to ever complete a film. For American moviegoers, such a first seems practically unthinkable. However, Al Mansour is truly a groundbreaking filmmaker whose first film was also the first Saudi Arabian film to be submitted to the Academy Awards. 

In Unidentified, Al Mansour lulls us into thinking that Unidentified is a rather ordinary film until Noelle begins to untangle the mystery of this young girl while the film itself slowly peels back the culture of a society that fascinates Americans and is in its own period of transition and cultural change. 

As Noelle, Al Zahrani fascinates with a performance both determined and mysterious. While frequently dismissed by the police, despite most often being correct in her findings, Noelle captivates even when the narrative seems to be a bit of a stretch. Al Zahrani impresses throughout. 

It's in the film's second half that Unidentified breaks out of the formula and into twists and turns that are visually and narratively impressive even if, once again, perhaps a bit of a stretch. It becomes apparent that while the older men around her are initially unimpressed, Noelle's perspective is essential in solving a crime grounded upon cenuries of focus on the male perspective. 

Unidentified is undeniably a feminist film, though it's also a film that well within the society where it was made and, at least for me, remains both respectful and challenging of that society. You can accomplish both, and Al Mansour has done so. The fact that Unidentified was shot entirely within Saudi Arabia adds to its honesty and gives it an aura of authenticity with the film's suspenseful scenes being more suspenseful and the film's cultural immersion practically a character unto itself. 

The film's climax will likely play differently for different moviegoers. I, for one, appreciated it even if it wasn't quite earned. It's a meaningful way to close a film that is both entertaining and substantial in equal measures. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic