ShangLuda Admirable film.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

sol- Having fled a refugee centre in post-World War II Germany, a traumatised boy with selective mutism is taken in by a kindly soldier while his mother desperately searches for him in this war drama starring Montgomery Clift as the soldier. 'The Search' was Clift's first big screen performance and he is great every step of the way, radiating genuine excitement when teaching the boy how to speak and the bond that develops between them is undeniable. Jarmila Novotna is also fine as the boy's mother, never once lapsing into melodrama in a nicely down-to-earth turn, and Ivan Jandl as the boy in question won a special Oscar for his performance. The film takes quite a while to warm up with Clift not making an appearance until over 30 minutes in. The beginning portion of the film also features a lot of sentimental voice-over narration that spells out the obvious (the kids are described as "children who had a right to better things"). There are, however, also several fantastic moments early on. The bumpy, silent ambulance ride in which tension and anxiety within the kids gradually swells up rates as one of the finest sequences that director Fred Zinnemann ever filmed - and the subsequent near-silent chase scene is equally as intense. Whatever the case, the final hour or so of the film (in which the narration practically disappears) is excellent stuff. Clift's altruism is especially resonating as the film looks at the ability of humanity to triumph in the face of the inhumanities of war, and the use of actual desolate postwar German locations injects a chilling sense of authenticity into the air.

mach229 I love old movies - the 40s and 50s are an incredibly rich era for social, political and cultural changes and the movies provide entertaining history lessons. This movie is particularly fascinating for a part of the post-WWII era I've not seen before. Montgomery Cliff is perfection in his role as the army private who finds a lost boy, wild as a feral cat, and nurtures him into security. He is very young, skinny, and handsome without the startled look that captured him later in his career. His relationship with Jim is delightful - big brother with a great splash of kindness. And Karel/Jim is very effective and believable in his role as the nearly mute and deeply mistrustful boy who seems so alone. I am surprised that this movie is not shown more regularly. It holds your attention from the first moments when the ragged children are shown shuffling in total silence to the long tables where they eat their Red Cross soup and bread. They are dirty, ragged, scared and emaciated and,although they are in the care of kind and efficient Army personnel, the children are clearly haunted. I liked that the adults who came into their lives are likely hardened to the horrors these children have faced but still show compassion and empathy. The production details are very good - the movie was filmed in post- war Germany and it is an apocalyptic locale juxtaposed against beautiful springtime scenes in the countryside. There are long moments of silence where the scene tells the story very effectively, and other moments where the variety of spoken languages tells the story of how many children in so many countries were displaced. The actresses playing Karel's mother and Mrs. Murray are also wonderfully compelling characters, and Wendell Corey is reliably good in a small role.

krishkmenon I saw this film in the early 1980's when as an Indian student in NY a senior friend who was a specialist on the movies made in the Hollywood Golden era introduced me to them. As a avid reader and history buff of the Second World war the film remains to date as one of my most favourite as I think that it is one of the few that really addressed the situation of the children refugees of the war. The story line is more or less accurate to a point as it is similar to whatever I have read on the period based on fact. The boy played by Ivan Jandl was as in the movie Czech and I am given to understand that he was later on persecuted by the Communist regime of Czechoslovakia for being US friendly. It is also a fact that though he was awarded a special Oscar he could not receive it. For a child of 10 his acting without mouthing any script is amazingly superb, maybe due to the fact that he had lived out such instances. Montgomery Clift - one of my personal favourites does not seem to act but live his role with ease. Aline MacMahon also does justice to her role and Jarmila as the mother is also excellent. However if it was not for the masterful direction of Fred Zinneman and the actual locations filmed in the bombed out post war Germany amidst the destruction and ruins maybe the film may not have been so good. Some of the scenes are etched in your memory eg. 1/ The wistful and longing look of the boy whilst at dinner sees another boy being fondled by his mother. 2/ When initially the children are being interrogated by the the Refugee Centre head a french boy recounts the horror of his being orphaned in Matheusen camp and another girl recalls collecting her mothers blouse after she perished in the gas chamber. These scenes can never be blotted out from memory. Don't miss a chance to view this classic.

ma-cortes This splendid tale filmed on location in the American occupied zone of Berlin is set after the 2nd World War . It deals about a nine-year-old amnesiac young boy (Ivan) who escapes from a military orphanage of displaced children led by a good woman (Aline MacMahon). Then he lives in the destructed Germany and has to do all kinds of tricks in getting food and barely survive. The unsettling kid wanders through the destructed city trying to find work or some food to reduce the starvation . One day he meets an American soldier named Steve (Montgomey Clift) . He gets support from him, and the ideas of this man lead the homeless boy in a clearer and safer way of living . Although Steve wants to adopt the child there are many obstacles for it. Meantime his mummy who has been searching the Displaced Persons Camps attempts to find his son, and the young boy convince Steve to find his mother until a touching finale.The picture is a moving drama seen through the eyes of a disturbed boy who eventually meets a good friend. At the beginning ¨The search¨ tells that portions of this film were produced in the United States occupied zone of Germany through the kind permission of the United States Army and the cooperation of I.R.O. The first part of the movie is set on a destroyed Berlin and is proceeded in similar style to classic titled ¨Germany , year zero¨ or ¨Deutschland in Sahre Null (1947)¨by Roberto Rosselini. Good performance from Montgomey Clift as upright American soldier stationed in post-WWII Berlin who befriends the unfortunate boy, this was his first screen appearance , although ¨The search¨ was really shot after his debut in ¨Red River¨ by Howard Hawks, however it was released first. This was also Ivan Jandl's first and only role , winning deservedly a special Juvenile Academy Award . Sensible musical score and average cinematography, as the film requires an urgent remastering. Intelligent dialog and story won an Oscar (1948) by Paul Jarrico and Golden Globe (1949) to best screenplay. This acclaimed motion picture is well realized by the classic Fred Zinnemann who appears uncredited as an interpreter. Rating : Better than average, worthwhile watching .