Unidentified

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Unidentified

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1h 41m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

79%

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34 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Twenty-nine year old Noelle Al Saffan moves to the city to start a new life after her divorce. Obsessed with "true crime" podcasts, she takes a job at a police station digitizing their old files. Her official work is mundane but, everything changes when the body of a young woman is discovered in the desert and the officers need a female present to investigate. Noelle jumps at the chance to participate in police work outside of the copy room, and haunted by the girl’s senseless and mysterious death, she launches her own investigation to identify the victim and solve her murder. Despite repeated warnings from the Police Chief to stay off the case, Noelle uses her ability to connect with other Saudi women to piece together a picture of who the girl was. Following the advice of her favorite video podcast, she investigates everyone who might be connected to the crime. Noelle doggedly pursues the mystery, putting herself in danger and challenging her preconceived notions about women in the Kingdom, the threats they face, and even the motivations that connect her to the victim.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

4d

Though the engaging story is sometimes filmed dismayingly plainly, its main action sequence -- a pursuit on foot through a vast warren of abandoned buildings -- is both thrilling and wondrous.

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Randy Myers

San Jose Mercury News

Jun 18

3/4

While “Unidentified” doesn’t carry as much thematic weight as the previous two films in al-Mansour’s trilogy, it does know how to jolt you out of your seat when it counts.

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Ben Kenigsberg

New York Times

Jun 18

Ultimately, Nawal has the right to be at the center of a ludicrous film.

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Andrew Parker

The Gate

2h

6/10

Unidentified is the kind of whodunnit that benefits greatly from its perspective and choice of setting.

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Carmen Paddock

MovieJawn

1d

Making matters worse, any themes the film might have been building to are immediately thrown out the window, muddling the purpose of the story and leaving a sour taste regarding what was previously schlocky but highly engaging

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Liam Lacey

Original Cin

2d

C

Haifaa Al Mansour’s Unidentified attempts to fuse a TV-style crime drama with an exploration of the barriers to women in Saudi society in a way that feels forced, and downright illogical.

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Zen

6d

Absolutely loved it! Kept me engaged from beginning to end. Hard to say more without spoilers tho

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Julie R

6d

Quietly intense and character driven, female forward. I was captivated. There were few plot holes, I thought, but when the twist came, I realized they'd been clues! I wish more people would turn out for this film. Recommend!

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Ruben G

@RubenG 2d

Original story and very unexpected plot twist

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Moody C

@MoodyC 3d

It’s not your typical murder mystery given Middle Eastern desert location & Arab cast but mystery itself is pretty basic with an unbelievable twist at very end that has been done before so shock value is gone. Most disappointing is lack of resolution as movie ends.

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jesse v

4d

an Arabic semi-religious twist on the detective character story line from the video game Heavy Rain, or other solo detective adventures. i wished there was more character development and depth (such as hesitation) than constant story forwarding. unfortunately, the second act deters out to more cinematography chops than the character wit. ending was an interesting twist.

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Dave J

@ccodave 5d

In Saudi Arabia a woman in a low-level job at a local police station seeks to uncover the identity of a murdered woman. It's in Arabic with English subtitles. It moves a bit slow with clues coming too easily, but the ending is wonderful!

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Haifaa Al-Mansour

Director

Mila Al Zahrani

Actor

Abdullah Al Qahtani

Meshaal

Aziz Gharbawi

Actor

Shafi Al Harthi

Actor

Adwa Alasiri

Actor

Unidentified: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Twenty-nine year old Noelle Al Saffan moves to the city to start a new life after her divorce. Obsessed with "true crime" podcasts, she takes a job at a police station digitizing their old files. Her official work is mundane but, everything changes when the body of a young woman is discovered in the desert and the officers need a female present to investigate. Noelle jumps at the chance to participate in police work outside of the copy room, and haunted by the girl’s senseless and mysterious death, she launches her own investigation to identify the victim and solve her murder. Despite repeated warnings from the Police Chief to stay off the case, Noelle uses her ability to connect with other Saudi women to piece together a picture of who the girl was. Following the advice of her favorite video podcast, she investigates everyone who might be connected to the crime. Noelle doggedly pursues the mystery, putting herself in danger and challenging her preconceived notions about women in the Kingdom, the threats they face, and even the motivations that connect her to the victim.

Director: Haifaa Al-Mansour
Producer: Brad Niemann, Haifaa Al-Mansour
Screenwriter: Haifaa Al-Mansour, Brad Niemann
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Al Mansour Establishment for Media Production, Rotana Studios
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 2026, Limited
Runtime: 1h 41m