The time period of this film is 1995. Alain and his wife Nicole have a son Georges and a daughter Kelly. Alain is an aspiring country singer and the family attends festivals with American western dancing and singing. While at an event without Kelly, the family learns that their sixteen-year-old daughter is missing. She has been taken by her Muslim boyfriend that they know nothing about. Alain is furious and desperate to find Kelly. Alain contacts local authorities but they are very ambivalent about helping the family? He receives a letter from Kelly saying she is okay and she wants to be left alone? Alain is accompanied by his son Georges (he really doesn’t want to go on these trips) and they travel long distances for several years to locate Kelly. She was not found in Syria and Yemen. They find themselves to be always one step behind the Muslim people who have Kelly. Over time, Georges decides he can’t do the traveling anymore and Alain goes alone. Later, Georges continues the quest on his own without Alain. During all this time, the mother Nicole has been the only family member to move on with her life?
I found it interesting in this film how the action of one family member changes everything for the other family members!! The only one seemingly able to cope is Nicole, the wife and mother. I would have thought that she would be the one most upset? All along, Alain is assuming that Kelly has been kidnapped against her will? Even after receiving the letter, he still can’t believe the truth that Kelly left on her own? Possibly, Nicole and Georges but not Alain may think that their disapproval doesn’t matter because Kelly went willingly with her boyfriend? The one aspect of this movie that doesn’t seem to add up for me is why is John C. Riley in this film as L’Americain?? 3 1/2* (I liked this movie)
104 min, Drama directed by Thomas Bidegain and written by Laurent Abitbol, Thomas Bidegain and Noe Debre with Francois Damiens, Finnegan Oldfield, Agathe Cronne, Ellora Torchia, Antoine Chappey, Maxim Driesen, Jean-Louis Coulloc’h, Gilles Treton, Francis Leplay, Djemel Barek, Mounir Margoum, Leila Saadali, Laure Calamy, Antoine Regent, Ilianna Zabeth.
Note: Imdb 6.7 out of 1855 views, Roger Ebert 1 1/2* out of 5* review by Glenn Kenny, Rotten Tomatoes 82% with 45 critics 70% audience with 300 ratings, RollingStone 3* out of 4* Peter Travers, The Guardian 4* out of 5* Leslie Felperin.
Special Note: Filmed in Rhone-Alpes, France; Udaipur, Rajasthan, India; Antwerp & Brussels, Belgium. Francois Damiens plays Alain Balland and this role is similar to the role of Sacha in Gare Du Nord of 2013. There is a mistake in the scenes of the 9/11 attacks in America. A reporter states that the Department of Homeland Security is in a panic because of the attacks? This Department did not exist on 9/11 but was created in November 25, 2002. In the review by Glenn Kenny on the Roger Ebert web site he states: “This film has been pushed as a variation of the John Ford film The Searcher. I believe the invited comparison is pretty ill-advised?”
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