Sin señas particulares

A story well shot and told, but far too long and slow. The cinematography is excellent, and Valadez's direction and choice of close-ups, angles, blurs, etc, make it feel like your are walking in the mother's shoes.

A mother's perilous journey across Militia-run lands inspires. Expertly crafted and shot. Valadez' extraordinary feature debut.

Screenplay...................................... 10 / 10 Acting............................................... 10 Cinematography............................... 10 Sound................................................... 8 Editing................................................ 7 Score....................................................... 6 Timeless Utility................................. 9 Total.................................................... 60 / 70 ~= 8.6 (which I rounded to 9) Verdict................................................. Highly Recommended

A vivid depiction of the struggle and the journey some take upon them ... for a better life. Words that meant nothing aside (from the 45th president of the USA), this is a struggle that is real. A struggle that may make you realize that there are humans involved.

A tough movie to watch (mainly because of its slow pacing, but also because of what it reveals from and about its main characters). Almost told like a documentary, the movie lets us follow the characters on their journey (or revisit it) ... both quite literally. The images will haunt some (many I assume), especially the faint hearted.

If you think your life is hard, try to walk in their shoes ... pun somewhat intended.

This is a very good movie with great production values, an excellent cast, and some very good performances. But it's a very bleak movie, it's very somber and realistic and it shows the blurred lines between the Mexican police, the military and the cartels. It really shows the truly diabolical nature of the cartels and what Mexico has to deal with.

End the war on drugs and the cartels cease to exist. America has essentially created the cartels with this ridiculous war on drugs and Mexico has paid the price.

This movie is to the brain dead (conservative) immigration talking points what Flags of our Fathers is to Letters from Iwo Jima. It's the exact opposite counterpoint and it shows the price of the Mexicans have to pay for their desire to emmigrate to America for a better life.

Sin señas particulares (2020) is a Mexican film shown in the U. S. with the title "Identifying Features." (The literal Spanish translation is "No Particular Signs.") The movie was co-written and directed by Fernanda valadez.

The film stars Mercedes Hernandez as a mother trying to find her son. He has left home with a friend to try to cross the border into the U. S. The friend is dead, and her son's backpack has been found. However, her son's body has not been discovered.

The trailer for this film shows the truth, but not the whole truth. We know immediately that this will be a difficult and desperate search. The question for us is whether she will find him.

However, the movie itself is much more than that. It holds your attention from start to finish, and the plot is not simply what you expect.

Mercedes Hernandez is a superb actor. Fernanda valadez knows how to utilize the skills of Hernandez to their best effect. (The editing is sometimes jarring, but the plot sorts itself out each time.)

We saw this movie on the small screen, where it worked well. We watched it as a screening from the DC Labor FilmFest. Identifying Features has a solid 7.4 IMDb rating. I thought it was even better than that, and rated it 9.