UNIDENTIFIED
The cop drama has been a pinnacle of the cinematic experience for decades. With movies like Bad Lieutenant, Serpico, The Departed, and countless others, they’ve become a part of the film landscape. But cop dramas aren’t only just American. Romanian entry Unidentified is another example of a cop drama done right. It is an unrelenting, fascinating experience.
Detective Florin Iespas (Brogdan Farcas) is the focal point in this film. From the get-go, you immediately sense something is off. He’s unkempt. He’s arguing with his boss (Vasile Muraru) about a case he wants to be reassigned to him about a bunch of hotel fires where two women died. Florin is visibly obsessed with this case, and it is this obsession that drives the movie’s narrative. The case itself is secondary to the rugged cop’s determination to solve it. This is a more invasive character study than a regular cop procedural.
As the film progresses, issues of institutional corruption, racism, and the nature of justice are revealed. Florin himself is no angel. He is a brute, intimidating potential witnesses using his status as a cop and manipulating colleagues for money and favors. At one point his boss tells him he looks “like a scarecrow” which works not only as an indication of his physical stature but also contains irony. Scarecrows are meant to ward off potential threats. Florin, instead, seems to attract danger everywhere he goes. Those looking for a straight-up police procedural may be disappointed, as the film is much deeper. The film would work for public library patrons interested in cop-related films, as well as psychological dramas.