The Unknown Country

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The Unknown Country

Released Jul 28, 2023

1h 25m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

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49 Reviews

72%

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50+ Ratings

Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin's wedding. She packs up her late grandmother's Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who've settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, The Unknown Country is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz.

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Critics Consensus

Lily Gladstone's outstanding performances powers The Unknown Country through some narrative drift to its ultimately profound destination.

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Jenny Nulf

Austin Chronicle

The Unknown Country is a naturalistic exploration of America that’s hopeful of human connection in the midst of a country that sometimes feels hostile.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 17, 2023

Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

Inside [Tana]'s making a parallel set of discoveries, as does the cinematic reverie we’re watching.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 24, 2023

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Dmitry Samarov

Chicago Reader

Morrisa Maltz’s debut narrative feature deftly mixes in documentary-style sketches...

Aug 11, 2023

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Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

It kindles my curiosity about people I encounter only briefly in seemingly incidental stops along the way. It makes every encounter along the road seem like an opportunity to 'love my neighbor,' establish a new friendship, learn a new story.

Rated: A-

Apr 29, 2024

Full Review

Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

A wondrous road odyssey that perfectly captures the exhilaration and the anxiety of being a woman alone on the open road.

Feb 13, 2024

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Sean Burns

WBUR’s Arts & Culture

Similar to 'Nomadland,' except without all the fatuous, condescending baloney.

Jan 18, 2024

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Wayne M

The Unknown Country is a meditative film, a beautiful exploration of the human condition. It's dreamy and contemplative at times, but manages to always remain interesting. Director Morissa Maltz has made a film that feels somewhat documentary like. It follows the central character in Tana, a Native American woman from Minnesota, who recently lost her grandmother. She decides to follow her trip she did many years ago to Texas. Along the way she reconnects with family in South Dakota, where she attends a wedding. Also on the journey she meets real life people who give her their story. These are really beautiful moments as we hear their interesting stories. This film lacks a real narrative structure, but it's really about memories and connections. Lily Gladstone is superb as Tana. And the mostly unknown cast shine as well in this wonderful little film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/27/25

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Leprechaun K

The film is half documentary like, with real life stories at each pit stop along a road trip. Some stories are not interesting than others, but movie as a whole seems flat. Good ending though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/25

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Judith K

This movie was boring. At best, it should have been a 30 minute short movie, rather than an hour and a half feature film. But there wasn't much to it. It felt like a documentary of a very slow moving road trip, which was meaningful for the lead character, but not for me.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

Jim H

This is a road trip that I'm so glad I took.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/24/24

Full Review

Kevin L

A lovely, quiet film built on a bisecting journey from Minnesota to South Dakota, then on to the Texas/Mexico border. Lead figure Tana seeks to find the location where her recently deceased grandmother's photo was taken long ago in some southwestern countryside in west Texas, and maybe find some solace and closure in its completion. Often visually impressive, "The Unknown Country" covers South Dakota's stark rural look along with long, long stretches of straight narrow highways on down to Texas as Tana stops in small towns, motel locales, and briefly into the lives of those who inhabit them. She finds some connection and joy in the stories, personalities, and dance halls of everyday people who've settled down far off the main tracts. Led by stand out work by the remarkable Lily Gladstone, this is an impressive feature debut by director/writer Morrisa Maltz. 3.3 stars

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/11/24

Full Review

Greg R

Not gonna lie. This one is gonna got you in the feels. It's just too long. It starts to bore.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/24

Full Review

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Morrisa Maltz

Director

Lily Gladstone

Tana

Raymond Lee

Isaac

Ali Lopez-Sohaili

Tommy

Richard Ray Whitman

Grandpa August

Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux

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The Unknown Country: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin's wedding. She packs up her late grandmother's Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who've settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, The Unknown Country is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz.

Director: Morrisa Maltz
Producer: Katherine Harper, Laura Heberton, Thomas Heitkamp, Morrisa Maltz, Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, Vanara Taing
Screenwriter: Morrisa Maltz
Distributor: Music Box Films
Production Co: Cold Iron Pictures, Unpaved Rodes, Wooden Finger Studios
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $68.9K
Runtime: 1h 25m

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