THE SEARCH

Montgomery Clift in his first starring role. A great WWII movie dealing with post war survivors of the Holocaust. The movie was filmed in post-war Germany, showing the destruction of their society. A great historically accurate depiction of the era. Definitely a two hankie movie.Worth watching!

great movie

I had never seen this movie before. My husband had me order it. It is so moving

Am a Monty Clift fan so watch anything he's in. This wasn't a bad movie, I found it a little slow. Fast Forwarded through the footage of the war damage. Just focused on Monty. Overall it is a decent picture. Appreciate being able to get these old, hard-to-find movies on DVD.

Great acting - many shots on location shortly after WW2. A great commentary on the impact of the war on innocent children. They don't make movies this good anymore.

This movie has always been a favorite of mine. I had no idea it was Montgomery Clift's first movie.It takes place at the end of WWII, and Germany is devastated. Children are homeless and being round up by the military authorities so they may be sent to their native countries and relocated to their families (for those lucky enough to find their families). 2 boys escape, and one meets an untimely fate. The other escapes recapture ( he makes a run for it because he thinks they're going to be gassed by carbon monoxide the same way the Nazis did by putting people in the back of trucks where they were suffocated). For days or weeks he lives in the rubble / ruins of the city until he meets a soldier (Clift) eating a sandwich on the side of the road. The boy approaches Clift, who gives the boy his sandwich. The kid eats ravenously, and says nothing (the entire time up to now. He's still in shock from having been in Auschwitz).Clift says goodbye, but before he drives off something inside tells him he should take the boy with him and help him. The boy tries to escape, but Clift earns his trust. With the help of a friend, Clift gets the boy to open up and he speaks (first in his native language, then he learns English). The bond between the two grows and Clift tries to learn more about him so he may reunite him with his family.Meanwhile, the boy's mother searches from camp to camp in hopes of finding her son (her husband and daughter were killed in the camps, as we learn early on in the movie). She is told her son is dead, but has a feeling he is not, and continues her 'search.' However, at a camp for children, she is accepted as a teacher for the children and she is compelled to remain here and help the children. As it turns out, fate intervenes and a most wonderful ending to the story takes place.Filmed on location, the scenes are filmed among the rubble and destruction that the Nazis brought on Germany for having started the way. This movie tells the audience how war devastates everyone, in this case the focus is on the children. They are lonely, separated from family and friends, and starving beyond belief. Hollywood could not make such an original film today. It would be flooded with special effects. This fact alone is part of the film that makes it so special. It makes you realize how we must learn to live together so that we ourselves are not separated from those who mean most to us.This film earned 2 Oscars, one going to the boy, played by Ivan Jandl, who received special permission from the Soviet Union to travel to America and receive the Oscar. I highly recommend this film. If you like classics, you'll love this one. I hadn't seen it in years, and am glad to now have it in my collection.

The DVD stopped playing right after the FBI warning. It's not scratched or damaged in any way. We took it out of the package and tried to watch it. AND nothing. Very disappointed. This is the second movie THIS WEEK that we purchased from Amazon that didn't work.

A favourite film that depicts the chaos and challenge for children separated from their parents at the end of WWII. The sheer number of homeless children and their efforts to survive is beautifully captured in the story of one small boy who hopes to go to the US with his sponsor - an American soldier. However, against all odds he is reunited with his mother.