The Unknown Country

Play trailer

1:56

The Unknown Country

2023

1h 25m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin's wedding. She packs up her late grandmother's Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who've settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, The Unknown Country is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Lily Gladstone's outstanding performances powers The Unknown Country through some narrative drift to its ultimately profound destination.

Read Critics Reviews

Jenny Nulf

Austin Chronicle

11/17/2023

3.5/5

The Unknown Country is a naturalistic exploration of America that’s hopeful of human connection in the midst of a country that sometimes feels hostile.

Go to Full Review

Michael Phillips

Chicago Tribune

08/24/2023

3.5/4

Inside [Tana]'s making a parallel set of discoveries, as does the cinematic reverie we’re watching.

Go to Full Review

Dmitry Samarov

Chicago Reader

08/11/2023

Morrisa Maltz’s debut narrative feature deftly mixes in documentary-style sketches...

Go to Full Review

Christie Cronan

Common Sense Media

Mar 10

3/5

A healing road trip with a few bumpy detours, The Unknown Country is an artful expression of navigating grief and humanity with a quiet strength and relatable connection.

Go to Full Review

Emma Vine

Loud and Clear Reviews

Mar 2

3.5/5

It feels like a hearty home-cooked meal prepared by Grandma. It’s comforting to watch, nostalgic, and worth the time investment.

Go to Full Review

Codie Allen

Geek Vibes Nation

07/25/2025

9/10

The Unknown Country gracefully unfolds as a remarkably simple yet highly effective story. With masterful finesse.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Susan R.

@Reitsma Mar 6

Tooooo slow....almost put me to sleep.

See more

Sal D

@JustTheLaw Jan 13

High hopes dashed mid-way through the film. I guess as hard as I tried to connect with Lily Gladstone's character, I just could not so the vignettes patched together just did not work for me. Disappointed but maybe the movie is just not for me.

See more

Wayne M

@Wayne93 04/27/2025

The Unknown Country is a meditative film, a beautiful exploration of the human condition. It's dreamy and contemplative at times, but manages to always remain interesting. Director Morissa Maltz has made a film that feels somewhat documentary like. It follows the central character in Tana, a Native American woman from Minnesota, who recently lost her grandmother. She decides to follow her trip she did many years ago to Texas. Along the way she reconnects with family in South Dakota, where she attends a wedding. Also on the journey she meets real life people who give her their story. These are really beautiful moments as we hear their interesting stories. This film lacks a real narrative structure, but it's really about memories and connections. Lily Gladstone is superb as Tana. And the mostly unknown cast shine as well in this wonderful little film.

See more

Leprechaun K

@LeprechaunKing 04/21/2025

The film is half documentary like, with real life stories at each pit stop along a road trip. Some stories are not interesting than others, but movie as a whole seems flat. Good ending though.

See more

Judith K

@ziqiongmom 03/07/2025

This movie was boring. At best, it should have been a 30 minute short movie, rather than an hour and a half feature film. But there wasn't much to it. It felt like a documentary of a very slow moving road trip, which was meaningful for the lead character, but not for me.

See more

Jim H

@JimHobson 12/24/2024

This is a road trip that I'm so glad I took.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Morrisa Maltz

Director

Lily Gladstone

Tana

Raymond Lee

Isaac

Ali Lopez-Sohaili

Tommy

Richard Ray Whitman

Grandpa August

Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux

Self

Answers to Nothing

9%

36%

Answers to Nothing

Watchlist

Time Out of Mind

80%

42%

Time Out of Mind

Watchlist

Unconformity

100%

69%

Unconformity

Watchlist

Don't Make Me Go

50%

69%

Don't Make Me Go

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Don't Make Me Go

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2023

The Unknown Country: Trailer 1

1:56

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

Reeling from a devastating loss, Tana (Lily Gladstone) is pulled back into the world by an unexpected invitation to her cousin's wedding. She packs up her late grandmother's Cadillac and hits the open road, driving from her home in Minnesota to South Dakota. After reconnecting with her Oglala Lakota family, Tana sets off to retrace a surreal journey that her grandmother took decades ago, searching for the spot captured in an old family photograph. As she travels, Tana finds connection in the stories of everyday people who've settled down far off the main roads including Isaac (Raymond Lee), who provides a pivotal clue to understanding the lost location that could cultivate closure. A personal reverie summoned from a beguiling mix of fact and fiction, The Unknown Country is an arresting debut feature from Morrisa Maltz.

Director: Morrisa Maltz
Producer: Katherine Harper, Laura Heberton, Thomas Heitkamp, Morrisa Maltz, Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, Vanara Taing
Screenwriter: Morrisa Maltz
Distributor: Music Box Films
Production Co: Cold Iron Pictures, Unpaved Rodes, Wooden Finger Studios
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 2023, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $68.9K
Runtime: 1h 25m