The Unknown Country

A cross-country trip through America where the motives of the protagonist and her destination are slowly revealed. Lyrical, emotional, and full of fascinating characters going on with their lives.

Tana (an exceptional Lily Gladstone who we already saw at Americana in Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women) is driving towards an unknown destination in the American Midwest. We are unaware of the reasons behind this trip, but we have a feeling that it is going to be a long one. During this road movie, we meet people inhabiting the country, and little by little, through secondary characters and flashbacks, we discover the motives that lead the protagonist to get in her pick-up truck and press the accelerator.

A lyrical film that transforms the daily interactions of characters and dead times into sequences of narrative content, and possesses an emotional, almost spiritual power, which replaces numerous scenes of dialogue with moments of solitude between Tana and the road ahead of her. Landscapes play an essential role in the movie since it accentuates the inner journey of the protagonist and, consequently, the emotional dimension of the film. Morrisa Maltz directs this film that speaks from the heart, using every available element to craft a powerful and moving story.

Credits

Title: The Unknown Country
Year: 2022
Runtime: 85′
Country: USA
Direction: Morrisa Maltz
Screenplay: Lily Gladstone, Morrisa Maltz, Lainey Bearkiller, Shangreaux
Cast: Lily Gladstone, Raymond Lee, Richard Ray Whitman
Cinematography: Andrew Hajek
Genre: Drama
Subtitles: Inés Martín Llorente, Olga Gómez Balduz
Contact: Laura Heberton

Wins and nominations

2022: Denver International Film Festival – Honorable Mention
2022: SXSW Film Festival
2022: Champs-Élysées Film Festival