Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares) (2021)
91%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 28 wins & 23 nominations
A slow-burning descent into desperation, Identifying Features uses one shattered family’s ordeal to offer a harrowing look at the immigrant experience.
Identifying Features” is a film that will leave you feeling like you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. With stunning visuals and a powerful storyline, this movie is a must-see for anyone who wants to experience the raw emotions of those affected by the violence and corruption in Mexico. The performances are outstanding, especially Mercedes Hernandez’s heartbreaking portrayal of a mother searching for her missing son. While it’s not an easy watch, “Identifying Features” is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Production Company(ies)
Bandai Visual Company, Cine Qua Non Films, Engine Film
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2021
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):
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Country of origin:Mexico, Spain
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 22, 2021 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2021
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Identifying Features, Drama, Spanish, Fernanda Valadez, Jack Zagha Kababie, Astrid Rondero, Yossy Zagha, Mercedes Hernández, David Illescas, Juan Jesús Varela, Ana Laura Rodríguez, Armando García, Laura Elena Ibarra, reviewed by Adam Nayman, Simran Hans, Peter Bradshaw, Ty Burr, Carlos Aguilar, Robert Abele, Jeffrey Overstreet, Josh Parham, Kent Turner, Cate Marquis, MaryAnn Johanson, Jennifer Merin, 99% Tomatometer, 71 Reviews, 84% Audience Score, immigrant experience, Mexico, United States, slow-burning, harrowing, tragedy, criminal gangs, grief, loss, chaos, corruption, market forces, border story, odyssey, investigation, descent, thriller, Cormac McCarthy, dreamy imagery, intimate perspective, heartbreaking performance, criminal gangs, box office performance, budget, Kino Lorber, Scope (2.35:1), MPAA rating
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
David Illescas – Miguel
Juan Jesús Varela – Jesús
Ana Laura Rodríguez – Olivia
Armando García – Rigo
Laura Elena Ibarra – Chuya
Director(s)
Fernanda Valadez
Writer(s)
Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez
Producer(s)
Jack Zagha Kababie, Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez, Yossy Zagha
Film Festivals
Sundance, Tribeca
Awards & Nominations
28 wins & 23 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (71) | Top Critics (15) | Fresh (70) | Rotten (1)
The film uses Magdalena as both a viewer surrogate and witness, stranding her in a series of agonizing real-time set pieces and letting the stray details of place and culture speak eloquently for themselves.
July 19, 2021
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
A sunrise stains a lake pink, a violent flashback is blurry and unsubtitled; Valadez’s expressionist images give texture to the abstract emotions of rage and pain.
May 2, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Simran Hans
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
This film is a cry of rage or a cry for help, on behalf of people in Mexico who have been abandoned to lawlessness, corruption and the vast market forces created by its northern neighbour.
April 30, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
An austere, gorgeously shot parable of chaos and loss in modern Mexico, “Identifying Features” is an assured directorial debut from Fernanda Valadez…
January 29, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Making her feature debut, Mexican writer-director Fernanda Valadez finds a personal tragedy within a national one… She’s made a humanitarian lament by way of a slow-burn thriller.
January 23, 2021 | Rating: A
Carlos Aguilar
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
Equal parts odyssey, investigation and descent, this eerily shattering dispatch from the heart of a grief-beset country… has the power to expand our notions of what a border story is.
January 23, 2021
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
A nerve-wracking journey reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s ventures into blood-soaked wildernesses, where what you imagine … will only teach you that your imagination is not large enough to fathom the wickedness wreaking havoc in the world.
June 30, 2022 | Rating: A-
Jeffrey Overstreet
Looking Closer
Valadez’s extraordinary direction results in a display of dreamy imagery that emphasizes a rich commentary and an intimate perspective.
June 5, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Josh Parham
Next Best Picture
So assured and impactful is its ending that it can get away with three or four powerful twists.
December 20, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Kent Turner
Film-Forward.com
Mercedes Hernandez gives a heartbreaking performance as the mother, in director Fernanda Valadez’s award-winning, shocking expose of the problem of criminal gangs preying on travelers going to the North.
November 18, 2021
Cate Marquis
AWFJ Women on Film
This is a devastating film, weeping with grief and devastated anguish.
November 18, 2021
MaryAnn Johanson
AWFJ Women on Film
This is not an easy film to watch, but it is one that really must be seen because it so poiniantly points to an ongoing issue that is, as it exists in real life, persistently under-addressed.
November 18, 2021
Jennifer Merin
AWFJ Women on Film…
Plot
Identifying Features follows a mother’s journey to find her son who has left Mexico to find work in the United States, offering a harrowing look at the immigrant experience.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Mercedes Hernandez gives a heartbreaking performance as the mother in Identifying Features.
Fernanda-Valadez.jpg
