IDENTIFYING FEATURES REVIEW

Presently IN VIRTUAL CINEMAS! The title of Fernanda Valadez' Identifying Features alludes to the assortments of Mexican transients – a great deal of them little youngsters – who are consistently slaughtered while in transit to the U.S. line. Her film is an extra, despairing investigation of the individual repercussions of Mexico's vain battle on medication cartels, seen through the eyes of a perseverant mother. Valadez shows a genuine talent for verisimilitude, her intentionally paced approach demonstrating urgent to the film's total, painful effect. You might not have any desire to see Identifying Features more than once… yet that is on the grounds that once will be sufficient for it to burn itself into your memory. 

Magdalena's (Mercedes Hernández) child, Jesus (Juan Jesús Varela), disappears while in transit to America. His sack is found in a shallow grave, close to the body of a kid with whom he was voyaging. Magdalena is informed that this is the nearest they'll come to identifying her child. "What was his name?" they ask her. Magdalena accepts he's actually out there. In spite of being debilitate every step of the way, she carries on her hunt, which ultimately drives her to the youthful transient, Miguel (David Illescas). Having been trapped in the U.S. also, sent back to Mexico, Miguel is searching for his mom. In a harsh world, both of them locate a short reprieve in one another's humankind. The consummation will undoubtedly infiltrate the most solidified of hearts. 

"From behind, you nearly appear as though him," Magdalena tells Miguel, as they stroll through Mexico's wild. "From behind, we as a whole copy," he deadpans. Valadez – and her considerable cinematographer Claudia Becerril Bulos – shoot many of their characters from behind, or in shadow – one isn't seen on-screen, just heard – to underline the dehumanization that is right now occurring in her country, its residents decreased to unremarkable substances with no leftover identifying features. I can't underscore sufficient how much depends on Bulos' camerawork in this honestly agonizingly slow film: from its opening hazy shot of a figure moving toward a feeble house to the topsy turvy impression of a tree against a pastel skyline in a pool of water, she paints a clear, sun-burned representation of a country in emergency. 

Denoting Valadez's full length debut, Identifying Features contains groupings that show a shockingly profound pull enthusiasm for/information on film. An exceptionally compelling following shot follows Miguel as he crosses into Mexico from the U.S., the endless traffic of vehicles obscuring behind him. A strained succession portrays a truck loaded with unnerved travelers being assessed by a concealed, equipped man. Two moms are compelled to glance through a terrible collection of dead bodies to check whether they can recognize their children. A goat's head consumes in ruby blazes, its skull amassing with crawling parasites. 

Hernández is wonderful, saying a lot in a withdrawn, nearly quiet execution. We're with Magdalena consistently, misfortunes: losing a kid, standing up to her companions' misfortune and confronting government administration ("If you sign that record," Magdalena's companion advises her at a certain point, "they'll quit searching for [your son]."). Magdalena exemplifies each lamenting Mexican mother, looking for trust in an undeniably sad world. Astute past his age, Illescas enamors as Miguel, in a correspondingly moderate accomplishment of acting. 

Substantial quiets – of which there are many – fill Identifying Features with fear, permitting your psyche to meander, to attempt to sort out the ghastliness and pointlessness, all things considered, Aside from the two leads, there's little warmth or mankind to be found here, the film deliberately cold and removing, a lot simpler to respect than to cherish. All things considered, there's a lot to appreciate in this dismal, insightful excursion into the core of haziness.

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