Searching

Interesting experiment. Formally, it’s very good, even though the tone is quite ambiguous and the revelation of the mystery perhaps is too wannabe shocking. But as a portrayal of the stupid social networks and their users (yeah, I’m one of them), and the social numbness of today, It’s certainly effective and realistic. (21/11/2018)

I had a healthy dose of skepticism before watching this, as I don't consider these kind of film formats full-fledged and instead feel like they themselves are actually confining and limiting. However, Searching is a very bright exception. First of all, it boasts a very decent screenplay, which at some points strips the whole story of any predictability and serves up a decent dose of suspense through the "mere" computer screen. Sure, it would most likely work as a standard genre film (if it had been shot in a conventional way), but then the overall resonance would remain hidden somewhere in the background. In fact, the message of the whole film is directly tied to its form, which you won't fully appreciate until the end, and maybe a few hours/days after watching it, when you'll think about it all a bit more deeply. An urgent indictment of the Internet, and the digital age in general, or just a detective story cunningly put into an unconventional form? Quite possibly a little of each, but either way a very intelligent and impressive affair that fans of a good thriller should definitely not miss. (14/02/2019)

The idea may not be so original anymore, but it is still used to the max; the film has real momentum and the viewers feel that they are searching along with the main character. I was expecting an unexpected twist, although I had no idea what it would be, but I'm glad for the ending because I probably wouldn't have wanted to see it end any other way. The only thing that disturbed me a bit was the music: although it was good, it brought down the feeling of authenticity. (21/05/2020)

This is an interesting concept that I have not seen before. I get that it is not groundbreaking, but so far I have not had the honor of seeing it, so the idea itself impressed me more than it probably deserves. I was discouraged by the annoyingly melodramatic music, which seemed to come from East Asian films, where sweet sentiment is often mixed with brutal aestheticized violence. However, I was much more bothered by the incompleteness of the screenplay, which relies too much on form and does not address inconsistencies and incredible errors (would the police really work like this?). Even the literalness and typically studio ending didn't excite me. It does not help that the film loses its filmmaker's touch primarily in the second half instead of making the impressive climax helps us forget the weaker moments at the beginning. Despite all the previous complaining, however, Searching earns a decent three stars. Overall impression: 60%. (27/06/2019)

Great, intense, catchy, original. Exactly the type of thriller that you watch and get sucked into the plot by a simple but well-thought-out theme which shows the big potential power of Internet and social media. The father has broken into his daughter’s computer surprisingly easily, but it was acceptable as part of the story. At a time when European cinematography doesn’t finish itsstories and leaves the ending up to the spectator, the literal nature of this story is a nice surprise. The Americans simply like it and I also didn’t mind it. A great work that easily makes waves among mediocre thrillers and adds a lot of originality. (03/04/2019)