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The Search

Play trailer Poster for The Search 2014 2h 29m Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
20% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 54% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A 9-year-old orphan (Abdul Khalim Mamatsuiev) and a Russian soldier (Maxim Emelianov) encounter the horrors of war.
The Search

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Though well-intentioned, The Search has the timbre of a soporific lecture on the horrors of the Second Chechen War and is delivered with the subtlety of an RPG.

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Critics Reviews

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Liam Lacey Globe and Mail 03/12/2015
2/4
The French director's follow-up to his Oscar-winning silent movie comedy, The Artist, is everything The Artist was not: long, unoriginal and heavy-handed. Go to Full Review
Peter Howell Toronto Star 03/12/2015
2/4
Young Hadji's silence gives The Search what lasting power it possesses. Go to Full Review
Radheyan Simonpillai NOW Toronto 03/12/2015
2/5
After winning the Oscar for his glorified trinket The Artist, Hazanavicius throws a spotlight on human rights horrors. His well-intentioned children-in-peril story, set during the second Chechen war, is periodically moving but unwieldy and heavy-handed. Go to Full Review
Diego Batlle Otroscines.com 06/22/2023
1.5/5
The film has a clear political and conscientious bent, but it does it in such a clumsy, obvious, didactic, boring and manipulative way that the artistic result is disappointing... [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com 08/30/2019
2.5/5
The Search is an ungainly dose of good intentions that undercooks and over bakes. Go to Full Review
Blake Williams Cinema Scope 11/18/2017
The Search is what happens when winning awards supersedes making cinema. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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03/27/2018 Stunning movie not for the faint of heart. Someone plodding yet engaging and like any good European movie It develops slowly.... yet Once you're in you're hooked. This is the collateral damage of War on the soul of humanity. See more 10/08/2017 I agree the film may be biased against the Russians, but isn't that the way the West treats the Russians all along? Great performance from the little kid. See more 01/23/2017 Thought it would be boring. Despite melodramatic, it's kinda effective. See more 01/10/2016 The Search captures the brutality and horrors of war while succumbing to heavy handed storytelling that amounts to an exhaustive, dreary film. See more 07/20/2015 No es el mejor trabajo de Michel Hazanavicius. Llena de facilismos, y un drama sin profundidad plagado de clichés, este trabajo merece quedarse guardado en el cajón del olvido. See more 11/30/2014 Remember the light-hearted fantastical film that was The Artist? Well forget it if you're going to see this movie. From the same director comes one of the most depressing and heavy movies I've ever seen. Following a family separated during the second Chechen war in 1999, we see young orphaned children try to find each other while also completing the more difficult task of staying alive. In a parallel plot we witness a young Russian soldier as he is trained and dehumanized until he is left with no humanity. (Full review: http://onthedl.ca/blog/default/view/402/) See more Read all reviews
The Search

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Movie Info

Synopsis A 9-year-old orphan (Abdul Khalim Mamatsuiev) and a Russian soldier (Maxim Emelianov) encounter the horrors of war.
Director
Michel Hazanavicius
Producer
Michel Hazanavicius, Thomas Langmann
Screenwriter
Michel Hazanavicius
Production Co
La Classe Américaine, La Petite Reine, France 3 Cinéma, Orange Studio, Search Production, Wild Bunch, Sarke Studio
Genre
Drama, War
Original Language
French (France)
Runtime
2h 29m