Missing (1982)

Director:

Costa-Gavras

Writers:

Costa-Gavras (writer)
Thomas Hauser (book)

Release Date:

28 May 1982 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

When an idealistic writer disappears during the Right Wing military coup in 1973 Chile, his wife and American businessman father try to find him.

Plot Keywords:

American | Search | Journalist | Military | Coup

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Ed Horman
Sissy Spacek	...	Beth Horman
Melanie Mayron	...	Terry Simon
John Shea	...	Charles 'Charlie' Horman
Charles Cioffi	...	Capt. Ray Tower, USN
David Clennon	...	Consul Phil Putnam
Richard Venture	...	U.S. Ambassador
Jerry Hardin	...	Col. Sean Patrick
Richard Bradford	...	Andrew Babcock
Joe Regalbuto	...	Frank Teruggi
Keith Szarabajka	...	David Holloway
John Doolittle	...	David McGeary
Janice Rule	...	Kate Newman
Ward Costello	...	Congressman
Hansford Rowe	...	Senator

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Peru:14 | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Argentina:Atp (re-rating) | Canada:14+ | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 (re-rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1987) | UK:AA (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company:

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

Years after the film's release, with the advent of advanced DNA testing, it was determined that the body shipped back to the United States (as seen in the film's final image) was NOT that of Charles Horman. Joyce Horman actively continues to search for the truth behind her husband's capture and murder.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Several late-70s AMC/VAM (Vehiculos Automotores Mexicanos S.A.) cars such as Hornets and Pacers appear throughout the movie, despite depicting events in 1973.

Quotes:

Ed Horman: This past week I've felt like, erm, my heart has been torn out of me.
Beth Horman: It's okay.
Ed Horman: I feel very guilty.
Beth Horman: Hey, Charlie always says guilt is like fear. It's given to us for survival, not destruction.
Ed Horman: Oh. Beth, for what it's worth, I think you are one of the most courageous people I have ever met.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Precious Images (1986)

Soundtrack:

ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL

Another side of Jack Lemmon.

Simply,Costa-Gavras's American movies (this one,Betrayed(1987) and "music box" (1990))are better than his French works(compartiments tueurs(1965),Z(1969),l'aveu(1970),etc).Whatever you may think of "Z",the art of Costa -Gavras is efficient but a bit cold and deprived of emotion.This is a perfect dissection of a political assassination,complete with investigation and suspense.But the characters are reduced to stereotypes,particularly when they are played by overrated Yves Montand.

In his American works,while continuing his militant way,Costa-Gavras puts men and women made of flesh and blood on the screen:Jack Lemmon,who made us laugh so many times in Billy Wilder's masterpieces("some like it hot" "kiss me stupid" "the apartment",the highly underrated "Avanti"),shines in his dramatic part;his portrayal of an all-American man,proud of his country,who cannot really understand the evolution of the new generations but who knows that he's got only one son,whom he might never see again,is mind-boggling:his tired and sad face,always seeming on the verge of tears ,mainly in the second half of the movie which contains two classic scenes:

-The first one takes place in the stadium,where the prisoners are gathered;he's given a mike ,but a lump comes to his throat and he hands it to Sissi Spacek -who plays (with talent) the missing son's wife -;In the giant stadium,no echoes ,even when Lemmon,in a desperate call,asks his son to come home.

-The second one takes place in some kind of morgue,where dead bodies pile up.The wife and the father really go to hell,in this almost unbearable scene.

The Putsch (Costa-Gavras takes the American intervention for granted whereas there's nothing that proves it)takes a back seat to the desperate couple's plight.

Costa-Gavras has not completely forsaken France though:the book Spacek and Shea are reading is none other than Saint-Exupery's "le petit prince".