The Searchers

John Ford's 1956 film 'The Searchers' is a masterpiece. The searchers is in many ways the pinnacle of John Ford's directing career. Ford repeatedly used the same cast, crew and location for many films, developing a practice which evolved not only himself but also his cast and crew. Ford's dedication to the Western genre and his practice culminated into the film 'The Searchers' a film which stands as an artwork above many of the Western genre films ever made.

The story of 'The Searchers' follows Ethan Edwards, a man who fought in the American Civil war in the Confederate army who's bitter defeat still broods within him. Ethan approaches his brother Aaron's ranch in the hope of finding some home or peace, however during his stay his niece Debbie is kidnaped by Native Americans. Ethan embarks upon a five year search to rescue Debbie but during these five years Ethan's anger in defeat, his unsettledness and racism seem to drive him more than his original noble intentions leaving us to question weather Ethan's quest is in fact fueled by other desires of revenge.

The film is a brutal and relentless movie, reflecting Ethan's single minded search. The movie was filmed in Monument Valley, under the burning sun, clear blue skies and upon scored earth. The scenes of violence and tragedy are not cushioned by atmospheric sympathies, almost every scene is under the brazen sun which makes one sweet and squint, laid bare in the desert like the Native American's victims in the film who are left in the heat. The music is dramatic and shrill, conveying a tragedy and madness of grief. The relentlessness of the movie is one of the aspects which makes it a truly great film.

For me, one of the most powerful and emotional scenes in the film is the ending scene. The final scene is coupled with the opening shot of the film, in which we begin in darkness, a door opens revealing the bright landscape of the American desert. A woman moves out of the room in which we are in and the camera moves with her to reveal Ethan arriving on horseback. The final shot after Ethan's five year search is in the same location. The camera travels backwards into the house, watching the charters who overjoyed at Debbie's return enter the house, along with the men who went searching for her, all except Ethan, who stays outside. It is this moment which is one of the most powerful I have seen in all of cinema. Ethan is ignored by the rest of the charters who go inside, we the audience are inside the house looking out at Ethan. He turns and walks away, not to the horses which have been taken to the right but straight on into the desert. He stumbles a little rather than walks, as if he is giving in, to search evermore like the Native American who's eyes he shot out so that he would be condemned to wander in-between the winds forever. I half expect Ethan to disintegrate into sand and be blown away by the sideways wind, but instead and more abruptly the door swings shut, the film is over and I fall to pieces.



The ending scene is accompanied by a song 'The searchers' and the lyrics:

A man will search his heart and soul
Go searching way out there
His peace of mind he knows he'll find
But where O Lord, Lord where?

The first and final scenes in the film bracket the film in the same way I have discussed the bracketing scenes of Scorsese's Raging Bull, and before Raging Bull and The Searchers, Citizen Kane with the cameras peering through the fog and finally our retreat back into murkiness. In Martin Scorsese's 1967 film 'I call first (Who's That Knocking At My Door)' two characters hold a discussion about 'The Searchers'. The opening and closing of the door in The Searchers symbolizes not only the beginning and ending of the film but the door through which we catch "A glimpse of a mans soul". We know that the story does not end with the closing of the door, Ethan is destined to continue searching. In a sense the closing of the door which ends the audiences insight into Ethan's life by cutting off our experience leave Ethan to wander forever searching.