Overview
A thief's return to his village leads to unexpected surprises and a quest for redemption.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- deadpan
- absurdist
- witty
- arthouse movie night
- world cinema discovery
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply observed and inventive Moroccan black comedy with an appealingly absurd premise and strong sense of place.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The thief's buried money becomes the foundation of a shrine, while villagers organize their lives around an unknown saint.
The newly built Moroccan desert village and its shrine form the film's central visual and social environment.
The thief returns expecting to recover hidden money but finds the grave converted into a sacred site.
The story uses the thief's predicament and the village's superstition to create an absurd but humane comic parable.
Films like The Unknown Saint, and why
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
shared deadpan black comedy, village superstition, and morally compromised outsiders
The Lobster
shared absurdist humor, rural community eccentricity, and quietly surreal social observation
Horses of God
shared Moroccan setting, dry comic tone, and fable-like examination of belief and community
The Bothersome Man
shared satirical treatment of faith, small-community ritual, and darkly comic provincial life
Movie Details
- Director
- Alaa Eddine Aljem
- Release Date
- 2020-01-01
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (33)
Cast
- Younes Bouab
- Salah Bensalah
- Bouchaib Essamak
- Mohamed Naimane
- Anas El Baz
- Hassan Ben Badida
- Abdelghani Kitab
- Ahmed Yarziz
- Rachid El Adouani
- Mohamed El Moutamassik
Common questions
- What is The Unknown Saint about?
- A returning thief discovers that his hidden fortune has become the sacred heart of a strange Moroccan desert village.
- What is The Unknown Saint like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Unknown Saint as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Unknown Saint violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Unknown Saint as mild.
- What did critics think of The Unknown Saint?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply observed and inventive Moroccan black comedy with an appealingly absurd premise and strong sense of place.
- Which films are like The Unknown Saint?
- Films with a similar feel include The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Lobster, Horses of God, and The Bothersome Man.
- How long is The Unknown Saint?
- The Unknown Saint runs 101 minutes.
