Silly Little Country

The Searchers

If you have read my profile, you will know that I have an enthusiasm for this movie. A. O. Scott has a great review in today's New York Times of this and some other Ford films.
His subtlest and best point is in this passage:

But everywhere you look in Ford's world — certainly in "Fort Apache," in "The Searchers," in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" — you see truth shading into lie, righteousness into brutality, high honor into blind obedience. You also see, in the boisterous emoting of the secondary characters, the society that these confused ideals and complicated heroes exist to preserve: a place where people can dance (frequently), drink (constantly), flirt (occasionally) and act silly.

I believe he goes somewhat astray in his last paragraph, but perhaps not in the terms he is writing about. Spielberg's 'Munich' presents the post-Munich Mossad killings as a project of revenge, when there it pretty good evidence that the project was intended more as prophylaxis, and shutting down the next planned slaughters. Perhaps this point is subtle. But as Spielberg pretends his film is history, I feel Scott should have adrressed this point. There is no doubt whatever that Ethan in 'The Searchers' is on a project of revenge (and Scott points out that we never learn exactly why) and that it will not be pretty if he gets what he wants.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 5:07 AM