I'm one of Cate Blanchett's biggest fans because she hasn't disappointed me in any movie until I saw this one. Please check out such Blanchett gems as Kieslowski's "Heaven" her two QE 1 movies or the well-deserved Oscar-winning performance in "Blue Jasmine".The Missing is an overly long, cliché-ridden pointless pseudo-western. Did everybody else watch the same version I did? Is the theme of this movie father/daughter reconciliation or is it to demonstrate that aboriginal shamanism is more powerful than Christianity? Both themes have been explored better in other films. You can pick out right at the beginning of the film who will still be living at the end and who won't be standing. No spoilers needed.I am particularly annoyed by the portrayal of Christianity in the film as one of bitterness and prejudice. This particular movie cliché dismisses the loving acts of committed Christians over the centuries.Nothing redeeming.

I'm a bit flabbergasted by the many low reviews for this Ron Howard Western. Did we see the same movie? The filmmaking is of the highest order and the story slowly captivates you. The characters are good and realistic: Tommy Lee Jones plays a white man gone injun who returns to his adult daughter whom he inexplicably deserted years earlier. Cate Blanchett portrays the unforgiving daughter who is an unmarried doctor and mother of two girls in the New Mexican wilderness.One of the best characters is the Apache witchdoctor who kidnaps one of Blanchett's daughters. Played by Eric Schweig, the witchdoctor -- or "brujo" -- is a fiend of the lowest depths; the incarnation of heartless evil itself. He even looks like Satan himself. Great job on this front.The last hour or so of the film takes place in some fine Southwest locations (shot in New Mexico); if you love the Southwest, be sure to check out this film.Roger Ebert criticized how unbelievable it is that Jones and Blanchett are able to outdo the Indians at being Indians. Yet anyone who watches the film will observe that their realistic plan is to simply BUY BACK the girls from the brujo and his clan, not confront them in an unwise mêlée. Secondly, other Native Americans join their cause and therefore it's not just a group of white folks trying to outdo Indians at being Indian. Thirdly, Jones lived with the Natives for years, so if anyone could outdo the Indians at being Indian it would be someone like him. Fourthly, Blanchett is portrayed as a tough-as-nails woman living a very hard life in the desolate Western wilderness; hence, she and most other non-Indian people in similar circumstances were more than formidable as opponents of the kidnapping Indians (Why is it assumed that only Indians lived a hard life in the West? ANYONE living out in the wilderness in that era had to be tough).There are two cuts to the film -- 137 minutes and 154 minutes. I saw the shorter version and felt that it was plenty long enough.BOTTOM LINE: "The Missing" is a quality modern Western that should not be missed. It's not as good as "Dances With Wolves" or the 2007 version of "3:10 to Yuma," but it's on par with Westerns like "Open Range," "Appaloosa (2008)," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" and "Seraphim Falls." GRADE: B

The first thing I look for in Native films like these is how accurate they are. What I mean by that is how well do the actors portraying as the Native characters come across to the viewer. Ever since 1990's 'Dances with Wolves', Native films have really come a long way in that non-Natives have gotten to know how Natives ARE SUPPOSED TO BE portrayed in films and NOT as savage, ruthless heathens! That kind of ancient mentality has to go! Eric Schweig was awesome in this film. But he's great in any film since he has the natural ability to portray himself as either a hero or a villain. Anyways.. this one earns an 8 out of 10 in my books.

Ron Howard directs Cate Blanchett, Tommy Lee Jones, Evan Rachel Wood, and Val Kilmer in "The Missing," a 2003 western.Cate Blanchett plays Maggie Gilkeson, a medical woman in 1885 New Mexico, where she lives with her daughters and a ranch hand Brake (Aaron Eckhart), who is also her lover. One day, her father Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones) shows up after 20 years. She wants nothing to do with him as he left the family to go live with the Indians.He finally gets the message and takes off, only to become drunk in town and land in jail. Meanwhile, Maggie's daughter Lily has been kidnapped and Brake murdered, apparently by Indians. Unable to get help from the sheriff, Maggie reluctantly has her father released from jail and asks for his help in finding her daughter.Lily and other girls have been kidnapped with the intention of selling them into prostitution. The kidnappers are a combination of renegade Indians and whites who are working with them. Maggie, her father, and her young daughter, who refuses to be left behind, set out on their trail.Glorious-looking film that points up the brutality of life in the west, as well as the filth, and the strength that people had to have to survive. A woman had to be able to use a rifle, hunt, skin a deer, and do all the things that the men had to do.My understanding is that this film bombed; I'm not sure why. It has wonderful performances and no expense was spared, and also, as far as the violence, seems realistic.Cate Blanchett gives a magnificent performance as Maggie, a determined woman made of steel, who doesn't care what her father does for her - she still hates him. Tommy Lee Jones is a no-nonsense faux Indian (he might be part-Indian - this isn't made clear, but it seems unlikely) who knows his way around and believes in all the Indian lore. In one striking scene, Maggie becomes extremely ill -- according to Samuel, the brujo (Indian witch) put a curse on her. He calls in one of the Indians helping them to break the spell; meanwhile, her daughter reads the Bible out loud."The Missing" is reminiscent of "The Searchers" but here, the relationship between Samuel and Maggie goes a little deeper than thqt of Martin and Ethan. Maggie slowly moves from dislike to an uneasy alliance to a limited understanding of Samuel and finally, acceptance and gratitude, even if it's without total understanding. For Samuel, he is doing what he was told to do by a medicine man -- return to his family and protect them.Truly excellent film, an old-fashioned western in many ways, intertwined with a strong relationship story and suspense.