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This film is not rated
- Contains strong language, mature themes, and some depictions of violence
Identifying Features [Sin señas particulares]
This compelling first feature finds a mother embarking on an Odyssey-like search for her missing son across a border terrain where law and order has effectively broken down.
Drama 2020 99 mins Not rated
Director: Fernanda Valadez
Overview
Magdalena (an impressive Mercedes Hernández) bids goodbye to her son Jesús, who leaves Mexico’s central province of Guanajuato with his best friend Rigo in search of a better life in Arizona. But he never reaches his destination. When Rigo’s body is found, Magdalena decides to travel to the border in search of her missing son. There is a remarkable assuredness to director Fernanda Valadez’s cinematic language, evocatively embodying — with the aid of a sinister rasping score — the void that Jesús’ disappearance leaves in Magdalena’s world. The result is a deeply moving film about the importance of testimony – the need to search and to listen, and the importance of marking the passing of those we have known and loved.
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