Sin señas particulares

What's worse, to know that you're son is dead or not to know and keep living with a remainder of hope? A mother decides that she cannot live without knowing and embarks on a search through dangerous, lawless territory full of natural beauty and human bestialities. Very slowly told but very touching as one can feel the emptiness that surrounds the protagonist.

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.

Valadez's film has gone off as a firecracker, winning awards at the most recent Sundance Film Festival. It explores and exposes myths as well as expanding filmmaking tropes on the topic of "borderlands".

This film was directed by Fernanda Valadez but she co-wrote its Sundance Award-winning script with Astrid Rondero.

Its cast include Mercedes Hernández, David Illescas and Juan Jesús Varela. It plot is about Guanajuato mother, Magdalena (played by Hernández) trying to search for her missing son, Jesus (played by Varela) at the U.S./Mexico border.

It some ways, the story becomes an emotional, traumatic road trip, exploring the "border" within fear, anxiety, even looking into surveillance border technology and "coyote" subcultures.

Newb filmmaker and writer Astrid Rondero, along with newb writer and director Fernanda Valadez - with two prior short films and this being her first full length feature film, present us with a uniquely told story, that feels as real as it gets. 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.

This is by no means anything close to a Hollywood-style production, but instead uses tons of scenery and some flashbacks to tell an eerie story, as you travel throughout the film, in the mother's shoes. The casting and performances were plain with nothing exceptional, albeit feeling that much more authentic. The score was subtle and fitting.

My biggest issue was that a normally comfortable 95 min runtime, felt like 3+ hours with the forever-long and dragged out (and in most cases unnecessary) scenes. The pacing couldn't be any slower. I get that the filmmakers were trying to get you invested in the feel for the story, but there just wasn't enough substance to fill 95 mins, even if the pacing was fast. I'm sure many can handle slowly paced films, but I'm not one of those people. I feel at least 40 mins could/should have been trimmed off - bits here and there from pretty much every scene, and the pacing sped up, and it would've been an outstanding short film, told in the same manner, just faster without making the viewer (me) impatient. You can pretty much fast forward 70% of the "traveling" portions, and end up with the same results.

Nevertheless, and outstanding production from newb international filmmakers, and it's a story that needs to be seen, told in its unique way. If you're patient, you will love this film, but it wont be a "must see again" film. It's a 7/10 from me.

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.