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.
15 Reviews
A story well shot and told, but far too long and slow.
Top_Dawg_Critic6 May 2021
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.
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.
Interesting but flawed
euroGary20 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The central character in 'Identifying Features' is Magdalena, a poor woman from central México whose teenage son decides to emigrate to the United States with a friend. But the friend subsequently turns up brutally murdered, and Magdalena travels to the border region in an attempt to find out what has happened to her now-missing boy. In essence this is a road movie, as while travelling through the crowded towns and sparsely-populated countryside Magdalena meets various people - a doctor looking for her own missing son, a deportee whose mother has gone missing from a bandit-infested region in his absence, even a courageous worker at a bus garage.
Lead actress Mercedes Hernández at first lost me: her immobile face made her difficult to accept as an anguished parent. But as the film progressed I warmed to her, as she allowed rare moments of emotion to shine through. However, considering the distances her character was supposed to have walked, she appeared unfeasibly energetic in most scenes, as she hurried along in a manner suggesting she was just nipping down to the corner shop for some teabags rather than walking several miles over potholed pavements and rocky fields.
Magdalena's Olympic-level energy was not the only example of the film's staging not matching up to the story: in one scene an elderly man who has supposedly just been so badly beaten it will take him weeks to recover, is shown with no discernable injuries, standing perfectly straight-backed and upright. In fact, I found 'Identifying Features' a tough watch, and not only because the British Film Institute's iPlayer service on which I was watching kept freezing every few minutes: director Fernanda Valadez employed a number of arty flourishes which I found annoying: the multiple shots of clouds, blades of grass, stars etc which in some films add a sense of mood and pacing but in this had "padding" written all over them; the shots of people doing nothing of any consequence (eg staring into space) for minutes at a time; conversations in which only one participant was visible to the viewer; and a pivotal scene delivered not in the Spanish in which most of the production is shot, but in a regional language featured in all its untranslated glory.
So as interesting as the story was, this was, sadly, a much-flawed production.
Lead actress Mercedes Hernández at first lost me: her immobile face made her difficult to accept as an anguished parent. But as the film progressed I warmed to her, as she allowed rare moments of emotion to shine through. However, considering the distances her character was supposed to have walked, she appeared unfeasibly energetic in most scenes, as she hurried along in a manner suggesting she was just nipping down to the corner shop for some teabags rather than walking several miles over potholed pavements and rocky fields.
Magdalena's Olympic-level energy was not the only example of the film's staging not matching up to the story: in one scene an elderly man who has supposedly just been so badly beaten it will take him weeks to recover, is shown with no discernable injuries, standing perfectly straight-backed and upright. In fact, I found 'Identifying Features' a tough watch, and not only because the British Film Institute's iPlayer service on which I was watching kept freezing every few minutes: director Fernanda Valadez employed a number of arty flourishes which I found annoying: the multiple shots of clouds, blades of grass, stars etc which in some films add a sense of mood and pacing but in this had "padding" written all over them; the shots of people doing nothing of any consequence (eg staring into space) for minutes at a time; conversations in which only one participant was visible to the viewer; and a pivotal scene delivered not in the Spanish in which most of the production is shot, but in a regional language featured in all its untranslated glory.
So as interesting as the story was, this was, sadly, a much-flawed production.
Very different from what you expect
Red-12511 April 2021
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.
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.
Outstanding and very grim
latinfineart12 September 2021
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.
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.
TOO SLOW.
andrewchristianjr5 September 2021
Excellence in Visual Storytelling
shohpaulueno18 May 2021
Numerous aspects of this film are outstanding.
The cinematography is breathtaking, the camera capturing what is beautiful in the borderland. For once, justice is done to the nuanced flora, fauna, terrain, and architecture of this region so plagued with one-dimensional portrayals. And it shows the beauty of the people. Yet this only serves to intesify the first-person experience of what violence ravashes so beautiful a place. By grounding a story of Hell in lush Eden, the filmmakers humanize a narrative that would otherwise be overlooked by reductive stereotypes.
Symbolic imagery is worked into the narrative with truly uncommon delicacy: scenic shots of upside down landscapes and a profaned church are together a meditation on the desecration of the land. Intentional closeups on faces are icons. The one unholy icon was appropriately vile - meaningful in light of the smoldering spirituality of this film.
Most impressive of all, however, is the bravery of the filmmakers to create such an honest portrayal of the cartels. It is thoroughly damning in every sense of the word. One is left to wonder how they navigated the filming process - the real border, government and cartel checkpoints, all in an area that is, at present, actually controlled by the cartel. Are those involved with the film currently safe? It undoubtedly took immense courage to take on such a risk, when mum's the word, as the film so unflinchingly shows.
The cinematography is breathtaking, the camera capturing what is beautiful in the borderland. For once, justice is done to the nuanced flora, fauna, terrain, and architecture of this region so plagued with one-dimensional portrayals. And it shows the beauty of the people. Yet this only serves to intesify the first-person experience of what violence ravashes so beautiful a place. By grounding a story of Hell in lush Eden, the filmmakers humanize a narrative that would otherwise be overlooked by reductive stereotypes.
Symbolic imagery is worked into the narrative with truly uncommon delicacy: scenic shots of upside down landscapes and a profaned church are together a meditation on the desecration of the land. Intentional closeups on faces are icons. The one unholy icon was appropriately vile - meaningful in light of the smoldering spirituality of this film.
Most impressive of all, however, is the bravery of the filmmakers to create such an honest portrayal of the cartels. It is thoroughly damning in every sense of the word. One is left to wonder how they navigated the filming process - the real border, government and cartel checkpoints, all in an area that is, at present, actually controlled by the cartel. Are those involved with the film currently safe? It undoubtedly took immense courage to take on such a risk, when mum's the word, as the film so unflinchingly shows.
Good directorial debut
panta-410 May 2021
Great debut for the director Fernanda Valadez - it was definitely uniquely told story, that feels as real as it gets. The cinematography is bleak and heavy but no complaints about the quality of it, except some filler shots of sky and grass... her choice of close-ups, angles, blurs, got us close to the real viewpoint of the mother searching for her son and felt quite authentic.
Sadly, you could notice the short film material dragged out to 96 minutes, and it felt so much longer with its snail paced scenes... I understand that added to the dramatics but if was painful!
So, I would recommend it for one off watching, and prepare yourself - it will seem long!
Sadly, you could notice the short film material dragged out to 96 minutes, and it felt so much longer with its snail paced scenes... I understand that added to the dramatics but if was painful!
So, I would recommend it for one off watching, and prepare yourself - it will seem long!
Succinct in Sixteen
unclesamsavage30 January 2021
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
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
Cinema Omnivore - Identifying Features (2020) 7.3/10
lasttimeisaw5 May 2021
"Valadez proves herself that she has snap in her formulation, yet IDENTIFYING FEATURES is hindered by a far-fetched coda, designed to shock and awe (there is no logic to connect the actions), but it doesn't sit well with the film's precedent tonality and in particular, Magdalena's fortitude, whom Hernández consistently portrays with profuse sympathy to spare. In the end, Magdalena's effort feels squandered, if evil can simply crop up apropos of nothing, the weight of her journey is dissipated since hitherto locality has been the kernel of Valadez's construct, the disjuncture between style and form is a common contretemps for a new director, it leaves a bathetic feeling, nonetheless, we should still give a shout-out to Valadez for making a statement on her own terms."
read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks.
read my full review on my blog: cinema omnivore, thanks.
EXPANDING FILMMAKER TROPES OF "BORDERLANDS" IMAGERY
babyjaguar12 February 2021
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.
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.
Border(line)
kosmasp19 February 2022
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.
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.
Tough reality
isaacochoterena16 January 2022
This film perfectly exposes a reality that many Mexicans live.
With a good development, the film manages to reflect the reality for many Mexicans, the uncertainty that is experienced when people close to them disappear. This film represents the inaction of the authorities and the displacement of entire communities due to the violence caused by organized crime. Although the story slows down a bit in the second half, the ending is heartbreaking, raw, and very real. The performances are very good, the photography is beautiful, because it beautifully portrays the nature of the landscapes of Mexico, although it also portrays a country succumbed due to organized crime, the development of the characters is good and the direction makes feel the pain that some of the characters feel.
It is a different film that reflects the terrible reality that many communities live when they are displaced by organized crime, as well as the fear that these criminal groups spread to the population because they are violent and have no mercy on anyone, the best Mexican film of 2021.
With a good development, the film manages to reflect the reality for many Mexicans, the uncertainty that is experienced when people close to them disappear. This film represents the inaction of the authorities and the displacement of entire communities due to the violence caused by organized crime. Although the story slows down a bit in the second half, the ending is heartbreaking, raw, and very real. The performances are very good, the photography is beautiful, because it beautifully portrays the nature of the landscapes of Mexico, although it also portrays a country succumbed due to organized crime, the development of the characters is good and the direction makes feel the pain that some of the characters feel.
It is a different film that reflects the terrible reality that many communities live when they are displaced by organized crime, as well as the fear that these criminal groups spread to the population because they are violent and have no mercy on anyone, the best Mexican film of 2021.
Emotional Thrills and Desert Chills
natmavila18 August 2023
Oh boy, buckle up for a wild ride through the desert of emotions! "Identifying Features" is like that unexpected road trip where you think you're headed to a beach paradise, but end up in an emotional rollercoaster instead. I mean, who knew missing persons and border crossings could be the ingredients for a nail-biting drama? Fernanda Valadez serves up a captivating dish that leaves you questioning life choices and desperately searching for your own identifying features in the process. 🌵🔍
I had no clue this film would have me on the edge of my seat, anxiously shouting at the screen, "Girl, don't trust that guy!" It's like Valadez sprinkled thriller dust on a deep exploration of motherhood, loss, and humanity's raw underbelly. The cinematography is so stunning, it's like each frame is an Instagram post you'd actually care about. I must say, this film is the real deal - it manages to be both thought-provoking and heart-racing, a rare combo like peanut butter and pickles. 🥜🥒
So, to sum it up, "Identifying Features" gets five stars from me for making me want to hug my loved ones, reconsider any travel plans, and never underestimate the power of a well-placed cactus in a desert landscape. Valadez, you've turned my movie night into a therapy session, and I'm here for it! 🌟🎬
I had no clue this film would have me on the edge of my seat, anxiously shouting at the screen, "Girl, don't trust that guy!" It's like Valadez sprinkled thriller dust on a deep exploration of motherhood, loss, and humanity's raw underbelly. The cinematography is so stunning, it's like each frame is an Instagram post you'd actually care about. I must say, this film is the real deal - it manages to be both thought-provoking and heart-racing, a rare combo like peanut butter and pickles. 🥜🥒
So, to sum it up, "Identifying Features" gets five stars from me for making me want to hug my loved ones, reconsider any travel plans, and never underestimate the power of a well-placed cactus in a desert landscape. Valadez, you've turned my movie night into a therapy session, and I'm here for it! 🌟🎬
Good movie
bpasali-2474224 October 2021
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