Title: The Search
Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Bérénice Bejo, Annette Bening, Maksim Emelyanov, Abdul-Khalim Mamatsuiev, Zukhra Duishvili.
Oscar director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) returns with an epic film tackling the humanitarian disaster of the Second Chechen War.
‘The Search,’ explores the effects of this war on youngsters, through a story that leads to a happy ending and a tale of doom. Hadji is a nine-year-old Chechen boy (Abdul-Khalim Mamatsuiev) who escapes when his parents are murdered by Russian soldiers. He is so traumatised he becomes mute, but manages to make his way to a border town, where he establishes a wary relationship with EU official Carole (Bérénice Bejo). Meanwhile, Hadji’s older sister Raissa (Zukhra Duishvili) is searching for him and finds a job nearby caring for orphaned Chechen children, under the leadership of an incredible American charity worker (Annette Bening).
In parallel to these happenings, we see the story of a young Russian, Kolia (Maksim Emelyanov) talked into joining the army as an alternative to prison after a trivial drug arrest. During his training he’ll be bullied so violently that for pure sake of survival he’ll mould himself into becoming as his harassers.
Despite the drama tackles a very heavy topic in history, the 149 minutes flow in an engaging and gripping way. The horrific moments of brutality, the vérité style of shooting, and the authenticity conveyed by the actors will grasp you throughout the entire movie. Hazanavicius depicts a merciless portrait of a war torn nation, with a sprinkle of pragmatic hope embodied by the humanitarian characters.
The protagonist (Bejo) once again proves to have a great chemistry on set with her husband-director, playing aloofly with the incredibly talented child-debutant Abdul-Khalim Mamatsuiev. Just as brilliant is Maksim Emelyanov as he falls in the abyss of blatant violence imposed by his fellow comrades.
This movie undoubtably marks an important change for the French cinéaste. His previous film was silent and in black and white, with a nostalgic perky allure, whereas ‘The Search,’ as a humanitarian movie in four languages, depicts a devastated contemporary setting. But this simply proves how the versatile skill of the director-auteur enthrals audiences, no matter the subject matter of his movie.
Technical: A
Acting: A
Story: B-
Overall: A-
Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
