not as good as all the hype

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Of its many winning aspects, "Missing" is that unusual political thriller in which the affairs of state don't overwhelm its humanist story. All this really is is a father trying to locate his absent son. Sure, the government officials are there to stonewall him (and just be duplicitous bastards in general) but who among us can't identify with Jack Lemmon's desperate search for answers? The movie sets the tone very nicely; shots ringing out, bodies in the streets and Vangelis lays on the ominous synth score. But it's really just Lemmon's painful journey from unquestioning American to abject disillusionment. He's the bewildered heart of this movie.Riveting, maddening and ultimately deeply sad, this is a powerful film.9/10

Paranoia can create a lot of harm. This film is not really about anti-establishment paranoia (as being mentioned in the movie) but about American Post-Bay-of-Pigs paranoia and its disastrous consequences. In order to prevent a second Cuba in the Americas all means were regarded as justified including the death of US citizens that happened to be on the wrong spot at the wrong time. A young American writer disappears shortly after the 1973 Pinochet military coup in Chile only because he has stuck his nose 'too' deep into the affairs of the US supported coup although these affairs are quite often presented to him in a fishbowl. The fact that he was writing articles for a liberal paper surely did not do him any favour either. His father and his wife start a search for him, constantly impeded and misdirected in their search by the officials, only to find out in the end that their worst presumptions have come true. The hypocrisy of the embassy members is really quite unbelievable. The movie atmosphere is quite oppressive with the Police being present on every corner of the city and with a curfew ruling out all nightly gatherings. It gives a good impression on how insane it must feel living under a totalitarian regime. The insanity is best demonstrated by a squad of police hunting a white stallion through the streets of Santiago. The contrast to the liberal atmosphere presented in the flashbacks from before the coup could not be any bigger. Besides this political dimension, the movie also covers really well how two fairly diverse people can slowly create a bondage in their common, almost Kafkaesque fight against the injustice around them. One can see how the understanding for the other's point of view is opening up during the movie. This of course is only possible for someone who is ready to sacrifice his own values under the pressure of the undeniable facts. Jack Lemmon as the father and Sissy Spacek as his stepdaughter are really doing an excellent job by showing this humanity in a world in collapse. Some comments in this block suggest that it is a bit sad that the movie does not reveal in detail what has really happened. I do not agree because the remaining uncertainty is just part of the deliberate political confusion and hence puts us in the shoes of the people involved. Overall, a political thriller well worth seeing that presents an interesting and awful historical event wrapped up in a true! story full of suspense.

There's a particularly chilling scene in this movie. It comes near the end in a confrontation between Charles Horman (Jack Lemmon) and staff members of the American ambassador in post-coup Chile, 1973. To this point the staff has sounded polished and professional in their concern for Horman's missing son, an apparent casualty of the coup. But in this scene the devious reality of American policy begins to emerge from behind the velvet glove, and Horman's passage from credulous liberal to disillusioned skeptic is complete. In a nutshell, the scene symbolizes one of the great divides in American political life, between the polished propaganda face our government presents to the people and the grim realities that face covers over, especially in dealing with Third World countries like Chile. Horman represents the frustration many feel in trying to deal with a cosmetic facade supported by both major political parties, when beneath it crouches the murderous policies of imperial rule.The real question the film poses is what Horman will do upon returning home.The film itself remains a gripping eyeopener from first to last. Costa-Gravas is especially good at recreating the abject terror of fascist rule: where long hair is forbidden and women are forced back into skirts, where people are present one minute and gone the next, where a democratically elected government is present one minute and gone the next, and where a Henry Kissinger can do the behind-the-scenes dirty work and be honored for it (not in the movie, but true nevertheless). The acting is first-rate, and a tour-de-force for Lemmon in particular. Ditto, the often overlooked Charles Cioffi who puts the real chill in the confrontation scene. Two complaints: the arch symbolism of the riderless white horse conflicts with Costa-Gravas's documentary approach, and why, oh why, did they have to make Horman's son so cuddly. The audience gets the point without spooning on the sugar. Anyhow, this remains a fine piece of revelatory film-making and retains as much relevancy for today's audience as it did twenty years ago.

In comparison with recent Argo, for example... Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek, however, give a magnificent performance helping to bring the movie beyond blunt anti-U.S. attitudes. In the event of coups, dictatorships etc. there are - sadly enough - there are victims on all sides and even a holding of a citizenship of a friendly country does not automatically grant extra privileges.As the plot is based on true story and if you know the background, you know the course of events and the ending as well. I did not and so everything was thrilling to monitor as there were no indications if/when someone gets hurt or killed, or not. There are plenty of moments where the options are 50:50 - as during military-related situations, soldiers may act as they please without fearing to be punished.Nevertheless, Missing can be considered as a gifted political movie - Costa-Cavras has always been a sign of quality.