‘The Missing’ has a more than impressive line-up of highly decorated, world-famous actors, a master of his craft in the director’s chair and often beautiful, breathtakingly atmospheric images. You’ve never heard of this a novel* Have you heard the Thomas Eidson-based western drama starring Cate Blanchett (Oscars for “Aviator” and “Blue Jasmine”) and Tommy Lee Jones (Oscars for “The Fugitive”)? No wonder, because upon its release in 2003/2004 it plummeted mercilessly at the box office and was therefore quickly forgotten. In the evening you can watch the film on free TV without annoying commercial breaks.
“The Missing” airs today, March 9, 2024 at 10:05 PM on ZDFneo. There will be a repeat that same evening at 3:35 PM. Alternatively, you can watch the FSK 12 title for free for a while after the first broadcast in the ZDFmediathek. Blu-ray and DVD* are currently only available as antiques or imports. However, the film is available at any time as paid video-on-demand from various providers such as Amazon, AppleTV, Magenta TV or GooglePlay.
In addition to Oscar stars Blanchett and Jones, there are many other popular actors. Expect Aaron Eckhart (“The Dark Knight”), “Westworld” star Evan Rachel Wood, Jenna Boyd from “Atypical” and Val Kilmer (“Top Gun”) in major roles. Also starring: Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Clint Howard (“Apollo 13”), Eric Schweig (“The Last of the Mohicans”), Ray McKinnon (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”), Sergio Calderón (“The Last of the Mohicans”). Men In Black”) and Max Perlich (“Drugstore Cowboy”).
“The Missing” on ZDFneo: that’s the story
New Mexico in the winter of 1885: Maggie Gilkeson (Blanchett) leads a hard life on a small farm with her daughters Lilly (Wood) and Dot (Boyd). The girls’ fathers are long gone. Although she earns a few extra dollars as a local healer and dentist, the determined woman is dependent on financial injections from her lover Brake (Eckhart).
One day, her father Samuel (Jones), who left the family when Maggie was a child, shows up unexpectedly. That’s why she doesn’t want anything to do with him and chases the man off the farm. But then Brake is brutally murdered by renegade Apaches and Lilly is kidnapped. With the sheriff (C. Howard) doing nothing, Maggie with a heavy heart asks her father to help her find the teen before she can be sold as a sex slave to Mexico…
Emergency landing at the checkout
When “The Missing” arrived in U.S. theaters in late November 2003, the film had to compete with the action blockbusters “Master & Commander” and “Matrix Revolutions,” which were showing there simultaneously, as well as the animated and holiday hits that were already big during Advent. had won prizes: Buddy – The Christmas Elf, “A Hangover Makes a Theater” and “Brother Bear” don’t stand a chance. The US box office couldn’t even recoup half of the $60 million production budget. The project was branded as a colossal flop, which was of course difficult to sell in the rest of the world (the German cinema release took place in mid-February 2004) and was therefore not a success.
In the FILMSTARTS review, which gave only 2 out of 5 stars, our reviewer Carsten Baumgart takes “The Missing” seriously – considerably more seriously than the author of these lines would have done. Certainly, the story, which is exciting for a long time, forces us some genre clichés and can also occasionally raise eyebrows when it comes to logic. What is undeniable, however, is that the shots that director Ron Howard (two Oscars for ‘A Beautiful Mind’) made in collaboration with his regular cameraman Salvatore Totino in a harsh winter, later destroyed natural environment are breathtakingly epic and contribute enormously to the authentic realm.
The camerawork is also excellent in the action, dialogue and character scenes, always offering unusual perspectives and supporting the cast’s generally believable performances in a subtle, emotional way. Fans of the aforementioned stars and of dramatic western and adventure films will find something worthwhile tonight when they tune in to “The Missing.”
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