Missing (1982): A Review

MISSING

The Chilean coup that overthrew socialist President Salvador Allende and led by General Augusto Pinochet occurred on September 11, 1973. This curious historical coincidence has led some to refer to the coup as "the other September 11th". I think that is a disservice to compare the events in 1973 to those of September 11th, 2001. That, however, does not diminish the horrors that those murdered in the immediate aftermath of the coup d'etat suffered. Missing chronicles the brutality of the 1973 coup through the experiences of one family. It is a well-acted, directed and written film that one remembers long after the credits roll.

American expatriates Charlie and Beth Horman (John Shea and Sissy Spacek) are mixed about living in Chile. Charlie, who is working on an animated film and translates for a left-wing newspaper, wants to stay. Housewife Beth would rather leave. The constant shooting around her, the curfews, the overall stress and terror of the situation is wearing on her. After visiting some friends, Beth misses the bus and is forced to live out a night of terror, hiding from the military when she fails to get home by curfew.

Her failing to make curfew and hiding on the streets may have ultimately saved Beth's life. She returns to their home to find it in shambles, ransacked and Charlie now missing. In desperation, she makes contact with her estranged father-in-law, Edmund (Jack Lemmon). Ed, a devoted Christian Scientist, has never been supportive of his son and daughter-in-law's liberal to radical politics. Arriving in a militarized and paranoid Santiago, Chile, Ed and Beth are civil but opposed when it comes to several matters.

Ed, having already worked with government official in the U.S., believes that the American embassy can help locate Charlie. Beth has worked with both American and Chilean officials. She has found them ranging from indifferent to downright hostile. Ed also holds Beth and Charlie partially responsible for Charlie's disappearance.

As Ed and Beth join forces, the extent of what happened to both Charlie and Chile becomes clearer and more alarming. Charlie in flashbacks finds retired and current American military officers in the resort town of Vina del Mar. Charlie, who was forced to stay overnight in Vina del Mar with his platonic friend Terry (Melonie Mayron), soon starts wondering why they are there at all. Ed and Beth manage to find one of Charlie's friends, David Holloway (Keith Szarabajka). Holloway was one of two last Americans swept up in early raids. He was taken to the National Stadium along another of Charlie's colleagues, Frank Teruggi (Joe Regalbuto). David lived.

The week keeps going. Ed soon starts understanding how the American government will be less than helpful if not downright complicit. He will see just how tied they are to what has happened both to Chile and to Charlie. Eventually, the truth about Charlie Horman is found.

Missing does something that makes it more effective. Under Costa-Gavras' direction, the film has no big scenes, no great drama to push the story forward. Far from it, as Missing is a surprisingly quiet film. Even an earthquake late in the film does not build up to something epic.

In that scene, as Ed and Beth along with the other alarmed hotel guests attempt to walk out, they are warned not to. One couple, cradling their child, ignores the dual proclamations of curfew and the hotel's building integrity. We hear the gunshots coming from outside. While we are relieved to see them return, almost comically, back inside, Missing shows us exactly what kind of state the Hormans are in.

In fact, we rarely see many acts of overt violence. Most of the terror is implied, sometimes in the most unexpected ways. When David and Frank are taken to the National Stadium, we overhear this exchange in Spanish.

"Where do you work?", a soldier asks one of the prisoners who has come up to his table.

"The Senate", the man replies, surprisingly calmly.

"What do you do there?", the soldier asks.

"I'm a Senator", is the reply.

Throughout Missing, the horrors of the junta retribution are visible but not dwelt on. We see the bloody corpses on the street. As Ed and Beth go to another hospital, a group calls out for everyone to see something outside the window. Everyone can then see another human corpse being carried by the current. The matter-of-fact manner to Missing makes things more chilling. It is to where when Ed and Beth are told that there will be an extra charge to send Charlie's body home that needs to be paid immediately, the viewer feels that mix of disbelief and rage.

Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek received Lead Actor and Actress Oscar nominations for Missing. Both, I think, did excellent work. Lemmon makes Ed Horman a very calm and rational man in a chaotic and irrational world. Often, he underplays scenes. He can get angry, most often at Beth and by extension Charlie. However, as Missing continues, we see this steady man slowly crumble. 

When quietly informed by someone of Charlie's true fate, Lemmon does not start wailing or having a big breakdown. Instead, we see Ed struggling between accepting what he now knows and the truth of the wild goose chase that he was purposefully sent on. One of the hardest moments in Missing is when he and Beth finally are allowed to go to the National Stadium, which has become an unofficial prison/detention center. The hope to find Charlie fading, Ed at first cannot bring himself to use the public address system he's been permitted to. Beth calls out for Charlie. Ed then can muster the courage to call out for his son. Given all that we have seen, we should know that the young man running to the foreground is not Charlie. In Lemmon's face, however, we see that faint hope he carries given some life. 

Sissy Spacek does fine work as Beth. She is more openly cynical about American involvement both in the coup and in functionaries being terribly unhelpful. However, she also sees that Ed is not dumb. He is at heart a good, decent man who holds to his shattering ideals. He can be dismissive of Charlie's works and views. He also, Beth sees by the end, is a father who does love his son.

Missing, in a curious way, shows that Ed still has not given up on his American idealism. As he and Beth finally leave Chile, Ed is visibly but quietly angry at the American embassy flunkies. "I just thank God we live in a country where we can still put people like you in jail", he tells them. Many people might scoff at that idea. However, I see it as revealing that Ed Horman still has faith despite the cruelty of it all. This is a man who amidst all the chaos both external and internal managed to find time to visit a Christian Science Reading Room. Faith, both religious and political, is important to Ed. Missing shows that despite all the horrors he has seen and endured, his moral compass is still solid. Ed does not shrink from trying to stop violent acts, even if it is dangerous. Ed's morality makes him heroic and tragic.

This ability to keep things grounded and simple may be why Missing won Best Adapted Screenplay. Costa-Gavras and Donald Stewart adapted Thomas Hauser's nonfiction book The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice into a somber, intelligent film that keeps a metaphorical human face on this overwhelming tragedy. Costa-Gavras did similar work in his Oscar-nominated directing. There is nothing flashy in Missing. When Frank Turoggi is found, the camera goes first to Beth and Ed, and then slowly rises upwards, to see the other spread out corpses. Often in Missing, no one has to say a word to know just how shocking things are.

One aspect in Missing that was not Oscar-nominated was Vangelis' score. Missing, particularly its gentle, somber main theme, is haunting, elegant and moving. Like much in the film, the Main Theme from Missing serves as counterpoint to the brutality of the situation.

Missing is a strong film on all levels. It is more than a chronicle of one person caught up in a shocking situation. It is an ode to how small figures can still display great courage even when facing massive odds.   

DECISION: B+