Les Cowboys
20/09/17 Filed in: Amazon Prime
Learning French has given me a far greater appreciation of French films, mainly because I watch a lot more of them. This 2015 film was recently added to Amazon Prime and I watched it this week. The title is perhaps a bit misleading. Certainly there are cowboys, of the French variety, these being people in a rural area who have an affinity with the cowboy life, dressing up accordingly for the occasional gatherings where the usual cowboy fare is on offer. It is all harmless fun. At one such gathering the Ballard family are seen enjoying themselves. We have the father, Alain, Nicole, his wife, their son Georges (aka Kid) and daughter Kelly. Alain is clearly is very fond of his daughter, as we see him dancing tenderly with her. But later in the day they realise that she is nowhere to be seen. After questioning some of her friends, it transpires that she had a boyfriend, Ahmed, a fact not known to the family.
When she doesn't turn up Alain, visits Ahmed's father, and also goes to the police, who aren't particularly helpful. In time it becomes known that she has left with Ahmed, and this sets Alain off on a mission to find her. The years pass and with Georges now a young man he and his father continue the search, although Georges is less committed than his father. Kelly has previously let the family know that she doesn't want to be found and that she has a new life. They also learn that she has a child. None of this dissuades Alain. As his father becomes more and more obsessed, Georges finally refuses to help any more. Unfortunately, tragedy then strikes when his father falls asleep at the wheel of his car.
We next see Georges helping an aid organisation in Pakistan, this being a means of pursuing the search for his sister. He has in effect taken up his father's mission, perhaps belatedly realising that his father was right, and probably feeling some guilt about what had happened. When an American appears on the scene offering to help, in return for accompanying him on a trip to free hostages for money, Georges agrees. While the American is off doing his business Georges spots a man who he believes is Ahmed and follows him. This turns out to be a disaster, with Georges ending up in a gaol, along with Ahmed's wife, Shazhana, both of them facing possible death sentences. A consular intervention fortunately results in Georges being released (thanks to the American, it turns out), but he insists that Shazahana also be freed. A bit of bribery makes this happen.
Georges and Shazhana return to France, where there is some hostility to her from the cowboy fraternity, this being after 9/11, with Muslims being viewed with great suspicion. But Georges no longer feels part of that community, and he and Shazhana make their own life away from the ill feelings. He is visited by Ahmed's father, who is still trying to discover the whereabouts of his son, but who also has some information about Georges sister, Kelly. Georges follows up his information, which leads to a very poignant ending to this film.
This film was presented at the 2015 Cannes Festival and received largely favourable reviews. I certainly enjoyed it. It is said to be a contemporary interpretation of John Ford's great western, The Searchers, and in the eyes of some of the critics, this is where it fails, the director not being John Ford. I think this is a bit intellectually snobbish, and for what was the director Thomas Bidegan's debut, I think this is a very well crafted film.
Georges and Shazhana return to France, where there is some hostility to her from the cowboy fraternity, this being after 9/11, with Muslims being viewed with great suspicion. But Georges no longer feels part of that community, and he and Shazhana make their own life away from the ill feelings. He is visited by Ahmed's father, who is still trying to discover the whereabouts of his son, but who also has some information about Georges sister, Kelly. Georges follows up his information, which leads to a very poignant ending to this film.
This film was presented at the 2015 Cannes Festival and received largely favourable reviews. I certainly enjoyed it. It is said to be a contemporary interpretation of John Ford's great western, The Searchers, and in the eyes of some of the critics, this is where it fails, the director not being John Ford. I think this is a bit intellectually snobbish, and for what was the director Thomas Bidegan's debut, I think this is a very well crafted film.