SXSW: Lily Gladstone in ‘The Unknown Country’

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s a rare occasion when a film ends up being more interesting than it sounds. The official synopsis for The Unknown Country, which is screening in the Visions program at SXSW and includes “experimental” and “hybrid” in its list of genres, describes a “largely solitary journey with an unknown destination.” But that’s merely a comment on the geographical nature of the trip its protagonist, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is on, and this film does manage to successfully blend together a number of styles for an intoxicating and positively disorienting experience… 

The Unknown Country is primarily about Tana reconnecting with her extended family members, who are members of the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota. She shares warm moments where young people bond quickly with her and older generations are overcome with emotion seeing her because she reminds them of the relatives from they used to know. She sees the way in which she is welcomed despite a long absence, suggesting plenty of regret and missed opportunities that include a greater context that isn’t the focus of this particular story.

But there is also a separate element that serves to carry the film from scene to scene, especially when Tana is no longer in South Dakota and driving south towards the Texas-Mexico border. The people she meets recount their stories in a way that feels like a documentary, recalling what they have experienced over the course of their lives with a passion conveyed by their words rather than their tone or audible enthusiasm. It’s a remarkably captivating device that serves as a hopeful counterpoint to the dismal news heard throughout on the radio about the 2016 presidential election.

Gladstone has been a rising star since her acclaimed role in Certain Woman, and she’s next headed for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon. She brings a quiet brilliance to Tana, making her a keen observer of the people around her who tempers her attachments and excitement because she understands their impermanence. The feature debut of writer-director Morrisa Maltz is a haunting composition of people who have come to be a defining part of the places they live and the way in which their authenticity impacts those like Tana who are merely passing through and stopping to experience them. B+

The Unknown Country is a world premiere in the Visions section at the SXSW Film Festival.