FILM REVIEWS:
BEST BETS for the week:
BLOOD LINES
COUTURE
DISCLOSURE DAY
SHOOT THE PEOPLE
HUSBANDS IN ACTION
UNIDENTIFIED
BLOOD LINES (Canada 2025) ***½
Directed by Gail Maurice
Canadian Indigenous director Gail Maurice returns after her acclaimed ROSIE with another entertaining hit that also encompasses current Indigenous issues. Maurice plays a mother, riddled with cancer, who returns to reconciliation with her daughter, taken away from her because of drink. Meanwhile, the daughter, also a storyteller and store clerk, Beatrice (Dana Solomon), is completely taken by a new woman who arrives in her Métis community looking to find her biological family. Beatrice decides to help Chani (Derica Lafrance) in order to spend more time with her. Meanwhile, a chorus of older women, collectively referred to as “The Grannies,” tries to get Beatrice to mend things with her mom. Director Maurice’s tale is also full of humour that lifts the dramatic tale up several notches. Entertaining while making a point with an important message.
UNIDENTIFIED (Saudi Arabia 2025) ***
Directed by Haifaa Al Mansou
Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda)’s latest film is a mystery crime thriller that unfolds like a true crime drama. It is a female gender slant that pushes against gender norms and challenges simplistic narratives of femicide, a female-driven detective story that transgresses all manner of jurisdiction in its dogged pursuit of justice. A young woman’s abandoned body is found in the desert and bears no identification. When the Riyadh authorities go to investigate, they recruit police department receptionist Nawal (Mila Alzahrani) to help the otherwise all-male team discover details only a woman would notice. The intelligent and observant Nawal, a true-crime fan, possesses an unusual degree of knowledge when it comes to homicide investigations. While the police drag their heels, she quietly takes matters into her own hands, going to different all-girls’ high schools to ask about missing students, only to find the administrators uncooperative, wanting no part in any story about supposedly “sinful” girls. But if it appears all too convenient that Nawal eventually finds all the clues and solves the case, there is more than meets the eye in a clever twist that one would never expect, lifting the film from what one would think is the typical murder mystery. Well-plotted and delivered in a seldom-seen setting, UNIDENTIFIED is a surprise gem.
UNIDENTIFIED (Saudi Arabia 2025) ***1/2
Directed by Haifaa Al Mansou
Saudi Arabian director Haifaa Al Mansour (Wadjda)’s latest film is a mystery crime thriller that unfolds like a true crime drama. It is a female gender slant that pushes against gender norms and challenges simplistic narratives of femicide, a female-driven detective story that transgresses all manner of jurisdiction in its dogged pursuit of justice. A young woman’s abandoned body is found in the desert and bears no identification. When the Riyadh authorities go to investigate, they recruit police department receptionist Nawal (Mila Alzahrani) to help the otherwise all-male team discover details only a woman would notice. The intelligent and observant Nawal, a true-crime fan, possesses an unusual degree of knowledge when it comes to homicide investigations. While the police drag their heels, she quietly takes matters into her own hands, going to different all-girls’ high schools to ask about missing students, only to find the administrators uncooperative, wanting no part in any story about supposedly “sinful” girls. But if it appears all too convenient that Nawal eventually finds all the clues and solves the case, there is more than meets the eye in a clever twist that one would never expect, lifting the film from what one would think is the typical murder mystery. Well-plotted and delivered in a seldom-seen setting, UNIDENTIFIED is a surprise gem.
