The Search (2014)

A French woman who works for a non-governmental organization forms a special relationship with a lost young boy in war-torn Chechnya in 1999.

Director:

Michel Hazanavicius

Writer:

Michel Hazanavicius (screenplay)

Stars:

Bérénice Bejo, Annette Bening, Maksim Emelyanov

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bérénice Bejo	...	Carole
Annette Bening	...	Helen
Maksim Emelyanov	...	Kolia
Abdul Khalim Mamutsiev	...	Hadji
Zukhra Duishvili	...	Raïssa
Lela Bagakashvili	...	Elina
Yuriy Tsurilo	...	The Colonel
Anton Dolgov	...	'Pocket'
Mamuka Matchitidze	...	Hadji's Father
Rusudan Pareulidze	...	Hadji's Mother
Dmitriy Tuboltsev	...	Soldier Under the Helicopter
Bjarne Henriksen	...	M. Bergson, European Deputy
Dmytro Rybalevskyi	...	Soldier with the Handgun
Nino Kobakhidze	...	Ana
Igor Lysiuk	...	Training Officer

Storyline

The three children of Chechnyan family are separated by the Russian invasion in 1999. The middle child, 9 year old Hadji, believing his older sister Raissa is dead along with his parents finds a place to leave his baby brother and gets swept up in the migration of survivors away from the war front. The refugees cross out of Chechnya into the town of Nazran in the Republic of Inguishetia in the Russian Federation where Hadji is left at a refugee center. Hadji is befriended by a young Frenchwoman Carole who is documenting the events for the Human Rights Committee of the European Union. Hadji is not speaking at all and Carole doesn't speak Chechnian but Carole provides for Hadji and develops a supportive relationship with him until she can find out his story and what to do with him. Raissa follows Hadji's journey to try to reunite with her two brothers. A second story-line follows a 19 year old Russian student Kolia who gets arrested with marijuana and sent into the army to avoid jail. ...

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Plot Keywords:

chechnya | second chechen war | reference to boris yeltsin | ingushetia russia | war crime | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is a reiteration of the Oscar-winning post-Holocaust drama, The Search (1948), directed by Fred Zinnemann, in which a compassionate westerner helps a lost child find what is left of his family amidst the chaotic flood of post-war civilian refugees.

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Alternate Versions

Because of mixed reviews at the showing at the 2014 Cannes Festival, mostly criticizing the length of the movie, the director removed 20 minutes from that cut for the theatrical release.

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Connections

References Nights of Cabiria (1957)

User Reviews

Russians are bad, Chechens are good

Manichaeist movie filmed in the time the first "refugees" (or economical migrants) were starting to come to Europe in millions, the producer smelt the profit. However, you see the trailer, you watched it and saved some tears in the way.

About the movie itself... it's just 2 personal stories without any link or twist. Slow as hell, all you can expect is when the movie will finish. The small kid Hadji makes a good performance though.

About the director, I'd love to see him and his "chosen people" living in Chechen, surrounded by all these nice guys they are making them flee from such nice cities in the past as Malmö, Rotterdam, Antwerpen or Brussels.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Georgia

Language:

French English Russian Chechen

Release Date:

26 November 2014 (France)

Also Known As:

The Search

Filming Locations:

Tbilisi, Georgia

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$434,957

Company Credits

Production Co:

La Petite Reine, La Classe Américaine, Wild Bunch

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1