The Search (1948)
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The Search Movie Review
The Search is a 1948 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Montgomery Clift and Ivan Jandl. It’s a very solid, moving drama.
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“You’d better stick to building bridges!“
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An American soldier in post-war Europe becomes attached to a homeless nine-year-old Czech boy and helps him to find his mother. This is one of the better Fred Zinnemann movies that was nominated for a couple of Oscars deservedly so. While the movie is familiar, it was very relevant and timely back when it was released. It’s a lesser-known of the nominated movies this year, but it deserves more attention and love as it’s such a sweet drama.
Montgomery Clift was wonderful in one of his earliest roles. He exuded so much charm, charisma and talent in the main adult role of the story. It’s one of his better and most underrated performances. But the heart of the movie is obviously Ivan Jandl as the boy who was a real Auschwitz survivor and that fact lent the movie so much authenticity. He was stupendous here.
The highlight of the picture is the relationship between the two characters that is so well developed and quite compelling. Whenever the two were on the screen together, the movie truly came alive. The rest of it was not as interesting and the other characters were less memorable.
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The Search is very well shot, solidly edited and superbly directed, but it needed stronger, brisker pacing as it wasn’t as engaging as I would have liked it to be. This is one of those charming movies that feature a timeless, but familiar story. It lacked the sophistication and originality that was necessary here, but it depicted the plight of children during wars in such a tender, heartwarming manner, so it gets extra props for that. The last act was so moving.
Fred Zinnemann’s The Search features an excellent early turn from Montgomery Clift and a great child performance from Ivan Jandl. It’s a familiar, but moving story of the plight of children in and after WWII. It has a very emotional third act, a terrific dynamic between the two main characters, and it’s so well directed and shot throughout.
My Rating – 4
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