Nawal al Saffan (Mila Al-Zahrani) looks up at a principal who doesn’t want her within the school’s grounds. Working as an archivist at a Saudi police station, she’s at the school in an unofficial police capacity. What I mean by that is that she, also a true crime fan, is investigating a young girl’s murder. In doing so, she takes it upon herself to make calls to lure people she thinks are suspects. She does this even if she steps on the toes of the crime’s lead investigator Ali (Aziz Gharbawi). Taking this parallel investigation, nightmares come to her, seeing herself in the position of the titular Unidentified girl. But that also means getting close enough to the girl’s mother Amina (Aouhod al Jadaan), giving everyone closure.

I wouldn’t call Unidentified minimalist but there are aspects of that here to complement this crazy murder mystery. One day, I’ll get over the fact that Nawal lives in what I call a respectable trap house. But that day is not today because her apartment’s bare bones complement a mind set that’s increasingly frazzled. Despite her mental state and bare bones crime knowledge, she surprisingly or unsurprisingly makes progress with the case. Little by little, she fills her apartment with evidence she shouldn’t have access to and notices some little details. For instance, the unidentified girl, whose name is Amal, has alterations on her abaya that she can trace.

Unidentified‘s minimalist aspects also means that it can spend its time to capture Nawal through beautiful closeups. In fairness to Al-Zahrani, she’s able to engender Nawal’s fears in entering spaces where she may not belong. Or when she figures out a way to suss out suspects, or waking up from surreal nightmares about Amal. There are, however, lines of criticism that I can echo about this film that deserves nuanced words. After all, it deals with binaries – true crime fan versus police work, women versus patriarchal men. The film frames her activities in such a way that it argues that the cops do nothing, which feels unfair.

Nawal, as the central character in Unidentified, is obviously symbolic of the complex politics in Saudi Arabia. Of men who have to bury their cousins early, or of dutiful cops like Majid (Shafi Al Harthy). Of women like Nawal finding peace and sharing that with others or at least, a version of it anyway. Her parallel investigation has political implications about her controversial country, as well the implications about Amal’s ‘accidental’ death. But I’ll say this about that reveal about the killer – I support women’s rights and even their wrongs. One can see this without the politics and just enjoy a mystery about a girl and a murderer.

Watch Unidentified in select Canadian theatres.