Missing [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Costa Gavras provides a vivid, frightening and compelling fact-based reconstruction of three Americans caught up in a right wing military coup in a fictitious but very believable South American country. A young couple with distinctly liberal tendencies come to the attention of the new authorities and the young man's father (played by Jack Lemmon) who has distinctly conservative tendencies comes to the country when his son disappears. He is initially hostile to the freewheeling lifestyle of the couple and is annoyed that he has to intervene as he cannot understand why they were in the country in the first place but he gradually relates more closely to his daughter in law (played by Sissy Spacek) and can see her point of view. They soon realise that the coup is not a purely internal matter but it had the fingerprints of the CIA all over it. Fear descends across the country, nightime curfews are viciously enforced, hundreds of people are arrested for no good reason and the bodies of innocent people increasingly fill the streets and the hospitals as the authorities crush any dissent real or impagined. Against this background the couple desperately carry out their search until it reaches a tragic conclusion.Lemmon and Spacek are superb as the searchers and the film's portrayal of a country falling into the hands of an oppressive fascist regime is exciting, frightening and memorable. All concerned with the work are to be congratulated in creating a film of the highest quality.

Undoubtedly Missing turns out to be a great piece of cinema, one of the brightest works of political film-maker Costa-Gavras. Based on true events, it successfully captures the chaotic atmosphere of Chile during the first weeks of Pinochet government. Crisp and compelling, the story is based on the vain struggle of an American businessman Ed Horman to recover his son, who vanished without a trace during the helter-skelter following the right-wing political coup.The general mood of the movie fits the story and its backdrop well with a fine score by Vangelis. Acting two controversial characters, Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek both deliver dazzling performances. Costa-Gavras uses an ingenious technique of flashbacks to give the people more deep background and allows them to draw conclusions from what they may have missed. This is the reason that the movie lacked a bit of clarity to the end and it causes little ambiguity.Contrary to the movie, that Universal DVD is such a "bare to bones" disc. There are no audio options (English mono only). The transfer is poor, pictures are grainy, and of course it lacks special features. What a shame!!! I think this is a kind of movie that really does deserve special edition treatment...

just a superbly made film, The Jack Lemmon character's frustration with the Argentinian bureaucracy coupled with not knowing his son's fate and his increasing suspicions. The camerawork is superb

Good film of real life events, unlike outlandish common special effects CGI movies in the market which takes everyone for a brief escapist trance trip from the real world.

Saw this move when it first came out and I have never forgotten the impact on me. It is a history lesson on a horrendous time in Chile which was the beginning of neoliberal economics. Plus it’s got the irreplaceable Jack Lemon.

"Missing" has to be one of the best films I've seen. Although the film couldn't be filmed in Chile due to the regime in place there at the time of filming, the architecture and scenery depicted in the film does indeed look strangely like Santiago. There are several features of the film that stand out - what is particularly effective is the use of 'flashbacks' which help the viewer to gradually gain a clearer picture of what is going on. However, unlike many films which either sanitise and glamorise violence - the violence of the coup is depicted as what it was really like - brutal, chaotic and extreme - you get a real sense of fear, and the constant gunshots in the background remind the viewer of the sickening level of violence that existed in the weeks after the coup. The film is a must-see for anyone with an interest in Chile.

It's funny how you finally see a film and find the resonances. I was a student when the American backed coup took place in Chile and a democratically elected government led by Salvador Allende was overthrown and murdered by the miltary led by Augusto Pinochet. I remember all the lapel badges "Solidarity with the People of Chile" and I remember Pinochet being arrested in Britain and how Margaret Thatcher defended him as a defender of freedom. And how a gutless Jack Straw let him off.The movie directed by Costa Gavras is a sparse no frills piece. Great performances by Sissy Spacek as the wife of the missing American and Jack Lemmon as his father. You always know what the ending is likely to be but the getting there is a real journey as you become part of Jack Lemmon's journey through doubt, cynicism and discovery.When this film was made many still said that American involvement in the coup was the product of conspiracy theoriste. Now we know it was all true. It doesn't take a great movie to get you there but it helps.

some time since I saw this film...a little dated but still shocking