I loved the picture. Especially the idea of French people having American Country Western cookouts in the French countryside. Does that really happen? Or was the western thing supposed to be consistent with The Searchers, the movie people here say this movie took after? Anyways, since the movie is about people's 15 year search for a daughter/sister, I would have liked to see some scenes showing what she was like at home, or why they cherished her, beyond blood. Instead we never hear a single word from her.
We do see the dad dancing with her, and apparently adoring her by the way he looks at her. But then the search isn't necessarily about love. When something or someone of yours goes missing or is taken, you want it back. There is pride involved.
In the case of the brother, it may have involved his need to carry on his dad's search. Maybe he was honoring his dad, more than trying to find a sister that didn't even want to be found.
Either way, it all wound up pointless, without spoiling anything. Perhaps that was what was so French about it. The existential conclusion.
I think they threw in the American actor to attract American viewers. It probably worked, although I don't think this thing made money. The photography is beautiful, the performances are right on target, and the political aspect is barely touched upon.
Perhaps the girl did what she did out of love, or the need for an identity. We will never know, because we didn't see enough about her home life. Although clearly her parents were loving and responsible people.
The performances of the dad and brother kept me in this. I felt their anxiety and was rooting for them. The grittiness was just enough without going over the top.
We do see the dad dancing with her, and apparently adoring her by the way he looks at her. But then the search isn't necessarily about love. When something or someone of yours goes missing or is taken, you want it back. There is pride involved.
In the case of the brother, it may have involved his need to carry on his dad's search. Maybe he was honoring his dad, more than trying to find a sister that didn't even want to be found.
Either way, it all wound up pointless, without spoiling anything. Perhaps that was what was so French about it. The existential conclusion.
I think they threw in the American actor to attract American viewers. It probably worked, although I don't think this thing made money. The photography is beautiful, the performances are right on target, and the political aspect is barely touched upon.
Perhaps the girl did what she did out of love, or the need for an identity. We will never know, because we didn't see enough about her home life. Although clearly her parents were loving and responsible people.
The performances of the dad and brother kept me in this. I felt their anxiety and was rooting for them. The grittiness was just enough without going over the top.