Harrison's Flowers (2000)

When a Newsweek photojournalist disappears in war-torn Yugoslavia, his wife travels to Europe to find him.

Director:

Élie Chouraqui

Writers:

Isabel Ellsen (book), Élie Chouraqui (screenplay)

Stars:

Andie MacDowell, Scott Anton, Elias Koteas

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andie MacDowell	...	Sarah Lloyd
Elias Koteas	...	Yeager Pollack
Brendan Gleeson	...	Marc Stevenson
Adrien Brody	...	Kyle Morris
David Strathairn	...	Harrison Lloyd
Alun Armstrong	...	Samuel Brubeck
Caroline Goodall	...	Johanna Pollack
Diane Baker	...	Mary Francis
Quinn Shephard	...	Margaux Lloyd
Marie Trintignant	...	Cathy
Christian Charmetant	...	Jeff
Gerard Butler	...	Chris Kumac, Photojournalist
Scott Anton	...	Cesar Lloyd (as Scott Michael Anton)
Christopher Clarke	...	David
Dragan Antonic	...	Chetnik

Storyline

Harrison Lloyd is a Pulitzer-winning photojournalist. His wife and family are making it hard for him to keep his mind on his work when he's in a war zone, and he wants to change jobs to something less stressful. But he's got one last assignment, in war-torn Yugoslavia, in 1991, at the height of the fighting. Word comes back that he apparently died in a building collapse, but his wife Sarah (also a journalist for Newsweek) refuses to believe that he's dead and goes looking for him. She's helped immensely by the photo-journalists Eric Kyle and Marc Stevenson that she runs into over there; together, they're determined to make it through the chaotic landscape to Vukovar, which is not only the nexus of the war but where she believes Harrison is located. Meanwhile, Harrison's son Cesar is looking after his father's prized greenhouse, keeping hope, and flowers, alive.

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Plot Keywords:

photojournalist | yugoslavia | vukovar | presumed dead | flower | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes love is the only proof you need.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong war violence and gruesome images, pervasive language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Cinédia Films Thierry Lacaze [France] (French) Universal [United States]

Country:

France

Language:

English French Serbian Croatian

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

A felejtés virágai

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$867,635, 17 March 2002, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,843,570, 7 April 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

7 Films Cinéma,Canal+,France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Harrison didn't loose his left arm. He was burned, but his arm is visible in several shots.

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Quotes

Journalist 4: Don't they have a wine cellar here.
[in the middle of shellfire]
Kyle Morris: What do you think this is? A French restaurant?

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Alternate Versions

For the United States version, the film's length was reduced by about 5 minutes; it also features a new score by Cliff Eidelman.

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Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

User Reviews

Embarrassing on every front

Harrison's Flowers is one of the most remarkably bad films to date. The Balkan Conflict is treated like an unfortunate backdrop for a much more "important" yuppie love story. The film is shameless in this regard, allowing MacDowell to blather through 3/4 of the movie while there's this inconvenient war thingy going on. The makers of this embarrassment should be helicoptered in dropped off in the middle of a civil war after this misguided Lifetime movie.

Also, and I checked her filmography to make sure that I was right, MacDowell's pinnacle performance occurred in Groundhog Day. She has consistently proven her inability to pull off even the simplest of dramatic performances. It is, at times, excruciating to watch her fail. MacDowell has been tolerated because she's easy on the eyes, and, like Julia Roberts, she just seems like a nice person gosh darnit. Hardly reasons to cast her in dramas ever, ever again.