X
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 2 m
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 2 m
Summary When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
Directed By: Costa-Gavras
Written By: Donald E. Stewart, Thomas Hauser, John Nichols, Costa-Gavras
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 2 m
- 1982
- PG
- Universal Pictures
- 2 h 2 m
Missing
78
7.1
Summary When an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
Directed By: Costa-Gavras
Written By: Donald E. Stewart, Thomas Hauser, John Nichols, Costa-Gavras
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
78
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
78
80% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
20% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Missing, which should easily turn out to be one of the year's best films, is essentially the taut, moving story of three people, two countries and one institution. [13 Feb 1982]
Missing is Mr. Costa-Gavras's most beautifully achieved political melodrama to date, a suspense-thriller of real cinematic style, acted with immense authority by Jack Lemmon, as Charles Horman's father, Ed Horman, and Sissy Spacek as Charles's wife, Beth.
Lemmon is superior as a man facing up to issues he never wanted to confront personally. Edgy and belligerent most of the time, Spacek is more constrained but she's fully believable.
Though Costa-Gavras clearly has a political axe to grind, he manages to do so without haranguing the viewer, keeping the film's focus on his characters and masterfully building tension as the story moves toward its stinging resolution.
By the time Missing begins its crucial last half-hour, a strange thing has happened. We care about this dead American, and his wife and father, almost despite the movie. The performances of Spacek and Lemmon carry us along through the movie's undisciplined stylistic displays.
Costa-Gavras's antipathy to Americans appears to be so deep-seated that he can't create American characters. The only real filmmaking is in the backgrounds: in the anxious, ominous atmosphere of a city under martial law -- the sirens, the tanks, the helicopters, the feeling of abnormal silences and of random terror.
This is a movie with an admittedly leftist slant. Some of the scenes are gruesome and powerful. But its politics are distracting, making the film less an artistic undertaking and more a political statement. [12 Feb 1982, p.11]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.1
73% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
18% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
9% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 11 User Ratings
7.1
73% Positive
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
18% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
9% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
Production Company
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,
Universal Pictures,
Estudios Churubusco Azteca S.A.
Release Date Mar 12, 1982
Duration 2 h 2 m
Rating PG
Tagline Charlie Horman thought that being an American would guarantee his safety. His family believed that being Americans would guarantee them the truth. They were all wrong.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 5 Nominations
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 4 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 2 Wins & 7 Nominations
