Directed by:
Aneesh ChagantyComposer:
Torin BorrowdaleCast:
John Cho, Debra Messing, Thomas Barbusca, Michelle La, Sean O'Bryan, Ric Sarabia, Colin Woodell, Ashley Edner, Roy Abramsohn, Morgan Peter Brown, Ben Cain (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
After David Kim's (John Cho) 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a local investigation is opened and a detective is assigned to the case. But 37 hours later and without a single lead, David decides to search the one place no one has looked yet, where all secrets are kept today: his daughter’s laptop. In a hyper-modern thriller told via the technology devices we use every day to communicate, David must trace his daughter’s digital footprints before she disappears forever. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
I had a healthy dose of skepticism before watching this, as I don't consider these kind of film formats full-fledged and instead feel like they themselves are actually confining and limiting. However, Searching is a very bright exception. First of all, it boasts a very decent screenplay, which at some points strips the whole story of any predictability and serves up a decent dose of suspense through the "mere" computer screen. Sure, it would most likely work as a standard genre film (if it had been shot in a conventional way), but then the overall resonance would remain hidden somewhere in the background. In fact, the message of the whole film is directly tied to its form, which you won't fully appreciate until the end, and maybe a few hours/days after watching it, when you'll think about it all a bit more deeply. An urgent indictment of the Internet, and the digital age in general, or just a detective story cunningly put into an unconventional form? Quite possibly a little of each, but either way a very intelligent and impressive affair that fans of a good thriller should definitely not miss.
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The surprise of the year and one of the best crime-media-social thrillers ever. The entire film takes place on a PC desktop, and sometimes with the help of a camera or mobile phone, which adds greatly to the authenticity and believability. It tells the story of a little girl who mysteriously disappears and her father tries to find out what happened to her. He learns information that he had absolutely no idea about his daughter and at times the film is really emotionally devastating. Praise must also go to the screenwriter who prepared a nice dose of brutal twists (all unexpected and shocking at the same time). But the biggest applause goes to the final denouement in the style of Saw, which left me almost breathless and I can't remember the last time I saw such an incredibly sophisticated, over-the-top, authentic thriller. Very gppd, incredibly gripping, engaging and uncompromisingly playing with the viewer. John Cho was very good. Bravo! 90%
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Interesting experiment. Formally, it’s very good, even though the tone is quite ambiguous and the revelation of the mystery perhaps is too wannabe shocking. But as a portrayal of the stupid social networks and their users (yeah, I’m one of them), and the social numbness of today, It’s certainly effective and realistic.
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I'll watch Searching quietly and happily a few more times. And for several reasons. The first is the original portrayal, which surprisingly also carries with it a lot of emotion. You only see the computer screen, you only hear the sounds coming from the person looking into the computer, and yet you can understand exactly how to feel. On the one hand, it's eerily true to our times, but on the other hand, it's brilliant. The way the filmmakers came up with the finale thrilled me a little less, hence the star down. But I still think it's one of the most important films of last year.
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Everything around us needs to keep up with the times, and this certainly applies to cinema as well. Searching is not just an ordinary detective story; it presents a truly unconventional viewing experience through a computer screen. Initially, it felt like a failed Canadian prank, but it has its own charm. It makes one realize how interconnected today’s world is through the internet and social networks, along with the associated potential threats. I must commend the lead actor's performance; throughout the film, the viewer only sees his face, so it’s immediately clear whether he’s overacting or not. However, John Cho’s brilliant performance quickly dispelled that concern. Despite the fact that the audience only views computer screens, the story offers a series of luxurious twists that had me on the edge of my seat, one after another (especially the first twist was a real knockout, wow…). I would have fine-tuned the ending a bit differently, but that doesn’t take away from the undeniable qualities of this intriguing film. I give it 83%.
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