"Ron Howard's startlingly moving drama about a broken family's desperate search for its kidnapped daughter resurrects much of what we remember in some of the greatest Westerns." Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR "The master sentimentalist has made a dark, menacing film, a lean and disturbing western with some modern subtexts that goes where no Ron Howard film has gone before." Kenneth Turan LOS ANGELES TIMES "The best and toughest western since Unforgiven." Michael Wilmington CHICAGO TRIBUNE "Those old values of family, loyalty and bravery don't get trotted out much anymore.... The film does them justice, and provides stimulating movie fare along the way." Eric D Snider, ERICDSNIDER.COM "Powerful and provocative, The Missing is another masterful production from one of the industry's best directors and two of its best actors." Paul Clinton CNN

"As hard as it may be to reconcile this as the work of the same director who made How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the fact remains that Ron Howard has never before made a picture this raw and alive." Todd McCarthy VARIETY "As harrowing as it is full-out exhilarating." Glenn Lovell SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS "The Missing is an absolute knockout, a western, a chase movie, an epic and the story of a splintered family and two civilizations at odds." Tom Long DETROIT NEWS "A first-rate psychological thriller that also happens to be a classic Western." Terry Lawson DETROIT FREE PRESS "This is a tough story, tough to tell and tough to take, and Howard isn't afraid to confront its meaner passages or dispatch likable characters as the plot demands." Sean Means SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

At A Glance

"For those who find westerns compelling, for those who aren't too concerned with the 'politically correct' ... "The Missing" will prove to be entertaining and highly watchable. A western in the tradition of past screen glories." ...... Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES

There was a time when the 'western' ruled supreme on the big screen, but just like the dinosaurs they were destined for extinction. In the fifities, westerns were all the go and every theatre had a Wednesday "Ranch Night" and people came in droves to get their fill of good guys versus bad or to see the calvary take on endless hordes of redskin savages who were on the warpath. Believe it or not, things were vastly different in the fifties to what we have grown to expect today. For a start, pubs closed at six o'clock, the street lights went off at midnight, people relied on public transport, radio was at its height of popularity, men wore hats, no-one had heard of 'daylight saving' and in many cities trams ruled the roads. I mention trams because when I was old enough to go to "Ranch Night" one of my most vivid memories is of the trams pulling up right in the front of the Colonel Light Gardens Star and everyone pouring out the doors and heading into the theatre. Of course us locals walked to the theatre, there was no need for us to take a tram a couple of stops. As a nine year old, the sight of those trams thundering past, jammed packed with western fans was awesome. Yes, the era of the 'western' was a golden era indeed. It was a period of real influence in the life of many a youngster. When it came to Xmas Day it seemed every boy on the block had been transported back in time to the wild, wild, west. The best present you could get was a cowboy suit complete with a shiny cap gun. Woe-betied any poor schmuck who got an indian costume because they would soon find themselves captured, tied to the clothesline and taunted as we emmulated the western greats like John Wayne, Allan Ladd or Audie Murphy. While it was grand fun, it wasn't till later in life I discovered that all was not as it appeared. The 'red skinned' indians weren't heathen savages who deserved to be hunted down like dogs. Far from it, they were fighting for their lives, their very existence, after all the land was theirs, not the white skinned invaders who were trying to drive them out, even to the point of extinction. To the white man, these godless savages had little worth until they discovered they could trade gold for 'fire-water' and guns. But even being armed wouldn't save the American Indian. They were eventually subdued, shunted off their traditional lands and placed on useless reservations. Here their numbers rapidly dwindled as they became subservient to the white masters and succumbed to the white mans diseases. But some kept fighting, like Geronimo, the famous Apache warrior who, if my memory serves me correctly, finally gave the fight away in 1886 and then, even though he was promised a pardon died in captivity of pneumonia in 1909. Geronimo was certainly no savage and from time to time I have quoted some of his words including these, '"I cannot think that we are useless or God would not have created us. There is one God looking down on us all. We are all the children of one God. The sun, the darkness, the winds are all listening to what we have to say." Geronimo; medicine man, great spiritual leader, great chief. For more see The Last Battle. Fortunately, when it comes to "The Missing" there is no doubting that the indians portrayed here are renegades and that what you see on the screen is not based on an event which actually happened. In the case of "The Missing", there's much to this complex, thrilling, western. "At its core, The Missing is the drama of a damaged family that finds forgiveness and courage as they track down a band of vicious kidnappers across a desolate, lawless landscape," says the film’s Oscar® winning producer Brian Grazer, adding "the tension is augmented by the complex relationship between the two central characters, Jones and his daughter Maggie. which is as unpredictable as it is volatile. When these two people are forced together, we see how alike and how different they are through their stubbornness and their strength. The ways in which they resist one another, and ultimately, are drawn together, creates an exciting dynamic." Set in the isolated west around 1850 "The Missing" is also a tale of reconciliation. "It’s a powerful, combustible kind of story about the power of a woman when the thing that is most important to her [her daughter] is threatened," Grazer says. "And it is the story of a father, who returns to his family, and redeems himself in their eyes through an act of selfless bravery."
Academy Award® winning Director Ron Howard sees the story as a tale of great courage and healed relationships. "The Missing features great characters, flawed men and women, who demonstrate enormous courage when they are confronted by an unspeakable horror," he said. "It’s a story of healing and reconciliation that also has the twists and turns of a thriller. I wasn’t looking to merely exercise an old genre, but rather to tell a story that was relatable on a human level and exciting and suspenseful, but that still treated the period in an authentic way."
Producer Daniel Ostroff agrees. "Whether you’re a father, a mother, a son, a daughter, you’ll understand these people and connect with them,” he states. “You have a woman trying to raise two daughters with no father around. And you have a man who shows up after many years wanting to reconnect with his daughter and granddaughters after having abandoned his family to follow his dreams," he said. "These are people all of us know and understand." Ostroff says the drama is heightened by the period it's set in. "You’re in New Mexico in 1885. That means no cell phones, no police, no one to turn to. The only way to solve the problem is by relying on each other."
The strength of "The Missing" is in its characters and more importantly the actors who play them. Like Tommy Lee Jones who spent months with Apache Elders. "This role is unlike anything else Tommy Lee has ever done," Ron Howard explains. "It’s a performance of incredible bravery, creativity and imagination. He has created a character of incredible dimension in Jones, a man who straddles two worlds, but is never completely accepted by either of them." And was there anything else that he [Jones] brought to the film? "Tommy Lee already had a vast knowledge of the old West and after studying for months with real Apache elders, for whom he showed the highest respect, he became fascinated with every detail of the culture," Howard says . "He was a champion of the Apache language, culture and psychology, adding priceless insights and humor to his portrayal, which brought greater truth to the film overall."
Of great importance to the film was having the right actress in the role of Maggie, a role Ron Howard says demmanded special qualities. "Cate was ideal for this role, because she is sexy, powerful and interesting as an actress. She has an inner strength that makes you feel she could stand up to the bad guys. Very few actresses have that command and level of power," he said.
So how does Cate Blanchett see her character Maggie. "She seems to be a no-nonsense, devout pioneer woman," Blanchett explained. "As the story progresses however, it is clear that, in so many ways, she’s as contrary as her father. Like Jones, Maggie is on an emotional, physical and spiritual passage that reveals every aspect of her character, not just her grit and courage, but also her more maternal side as well as her fragility, her fears, her fallibility and often judgmental nature." See the film - Read the Book & Get the Soundtrack

"Spare, violent and exciting...recreates an unforgiving world in which a moment’s distraction can prove fatal." Times Literary Supplement "Compelling...a powerful feat of storytelling." Irish Times Available in all good bookstores. RRP $18.95

The Tracks ....... New Mexico 1885 The Stranger Dawn To Dusk; The Riderless Horse A Dark And Restless Wind The Search Begins Lilly's Fate Is In These Hands The Brujo's Storm - A Loss Of Innocence Setting The Trap A Curse Of Ghosts A Rescue Is Planned Kayitah's Death - The Soaring Hawk Rescue And Breakout Profound Loss An Insurmountable Hurdle The Long Ride Home

Cast and Crew Bytes "The Missing" was directed by Ron Howard ["Backdraft", "Parenthood", "Cocoon", "Apollo 13" and "A Beautiful Mind"], produce by Brian Grazer ["Splash", "Liar, Liar", "Kindergarten Cop", "8 Mile" and "A Beautiful Mind"] and Daniel Ostrof ["Dogtown and Z-Boys"] from a screenplay by Ken Kaufman ["Space Cowboys" and "Muppets From Space"] with a soundtrack by Academy Award® winning composer James Horner ["Titanic", ""The Mask of Zorro", "The Perfect Storm" and "House of Sand and Fog"].
"The Missing" stars Cate Blanchett ["Paradise Road", "Oscar and Lucinda", "Bandits", "The Shipping News" and "Veronica Guerin"], Tommy Lee Jones ["Love Story", "The Package", "Under Siege", "Heaven and Earth", "The Client" and "Natural Born Killers"], Evan Rachel Wood ["Simone", "Digging to China" and "Thirteen"], Jenna Boyd ["The Hunted" and "Dickie Roberts Former Child Star"], Jay Tavare ["Street Fighter", "Adaptation" and "Cold Mountain"], Aaron Eckhart ["The Pledge", "Erin Brockovich", "The Core" and "Paycheck"] and Eric Schweig ["The Last of the Mohicans"] as the medicine man Chidin. The Story

If you‘ve been hungering after a good ol‘ fashioned western for far too long, prick up your ears and pull on those cowboy boots because the new film from "Apollo 13" director Ron Howard has got enough breakneck pursuits on horseback, gunfights and marauding Injuns to make any aficionado happy. Rachel Simpson MYMOVIES.NET

Maggie Gilkeson is about to receive a visit. A visit from a ghost from the past, a father she has not seen for over twenty years. A father who deserted her and chose to forsake the ways of the white man for a life with the Indians. Now terminally ill, Samuel Jones wants to reconcile himself with her. But Maggie cannot forgive him, she rebuffs his approach and sends him packing. The next day while checking cattle on the ranch, her foreman, ranch-hand and two daughters are attacked by renegade indians. The two men are slaughtered and her eldest daughter is taken by the indians. Her youngest daughter Dot survives thanks to the quick thinking foreman who managed to hide her before he died. Distraught, Maggie at first thinks her father is to blame. Until she discovers he has been locked up in the local jail she turns to him for help. A long and dangerous pursuit starts. A race against time to save Lilly before she is taken into Mexico and sold to the highest bidder. The Verdict "Those who weren't around to experience "Ranch Night" in the 1950's will now have a chance to dicover for themselves why westerns were so popular in those days. "The Missing" is as close as you'll get to those grand old days of cowboys and indians thanks to a talented cast and brilliant direction by Ron Howard. A spirited, exhilirating, thrilling western if I ever saw one." The Cast

Tommy Lee Jones Cate Blanchett Evan Rachel Wood Jenna Boyd Eric Schweig Simon Baker Sergio Calderón Heather Gulas Scarlett McAlister Aura Jensen Curtis Shelby Kocurek Molly McAlister Yolanda Nez Aaron Eckhart Alexandra Elich Eddie J. Fernandez Clint Howard Rance Howard Val Kilmer Ray McKinnon David Midthunder Elisabeth Moss Josephine Schwan Arron Shiver Jay Tavare

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Samuel Jones Maggie Gilkeson Lilly Gilkeson Dot Gilkeson Chidin Honesco Emiliano Captive Girl #1 Captive Girl #2 Captive Girl #3 Captive Girl #4 Ellie [Captive Girl] Captive Indian Girl Brake Baldwin Sally Mex Slave Trader Sheriff Purdy Telegrapher General Wittick Apache Scout Ann Sally Rancher Kayitah

The Crew Directed by Ron Howard Based on the novel "The Last Ride" by Thomas Eidson Screenplay by Ken Kaufman Produced by Brian Grazer and Daniel Ostrof Executive Producers Steve Crystal and Todd Hallowell Associate Producers Kathleen McGill/Aldric La'Auli Porter and Louisa Velis Original Music by James Horner Cinematography by Salvatore Totino Film Editing by Dan Hanley & Mike Hill Casting by Jo Edna Boldin/Janet Hirshenson & Jane Jenkins Art Direction by Guy Barnes Set Decoration by Wendy Ozols-Barnes Costume Design by Julie Weiss Run Time 137 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Columbia Tristar Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved