Unidentified

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Unidentified

PG-13

Jun 2026

1h 41m

Crime

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

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Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

Popcornmeter

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

Jun 23

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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Sammie Purcell

Rough Draft Atlanta

Jul 29

Its final moments, which ostensibly seek to clarify and turn the narrative on its head, only serve to undercut everything we’ve seen before without investigating the ending’s ramifications.

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Andie Ngeleka

In Review Online

Jul 9

Unidentified ultimately lands in a place of sticky ineptitude, demonstrating a penchant for complicating women’s desires and an inability to resist also teaching them a lesson.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

Jun 29

What starts out as a promising feminist thriller slowly reveals itself to be an absolutely reprehensible and regressive twist on The Usual Suspects.

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Meloney

Jun 30

I enjoyed this movie, even though there were holes leading to the plot twist. Still, it was good to see this entry from Saudi Arabia, showing some of the modern culture and issues for women. I hope it is recognized.

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Zen

Jun 22

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

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Julie R

Jun 22

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 Jun 25

Original story and very unexpected plot twist

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Moody C

@MoodyC Jun 24

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

Jun 23

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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Haifaa Al-Mansour

Director

Mila Al Zahrani

Nawal

Abdullah Al Qahtani

Meshaal

Aziz Gharbawi

Ali

Shafi Al Harthi

Actor

Adwa Alasiri

Actor

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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
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violent Content|Thematic Elements|Teen Smoking)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 2026, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 21, 2026
Runtime: 1h 41m

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