The Missing Movie

Tomorrow, on Tuesday, April 22, the TCM channel is airing the movie “Missing” at 11 PM (PST).  The time will likely differ in your area.  I bring this up for two reasons.
 
The first is that it’s an absolutely wonderful political thriller, based on a true story, that’s riveting and moving – and little seen.  It’s also, as it turns out, incredibly newsworthy, despite having been made over 40 years ago.
 
The film stars Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek – both who were Oscar-nominated for their performances as Best Actor and Best Actress.  Further, it was nominated as Best Picture.  So, I’m not speaking out of my ear when I say how excellent it is.  In fact, it  also won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
 
Notable, as well, to  add perspective, the movie was directed by Costa-Gavras, who directed the political thriller masterpiece “Z”, that was (at the time) only the second foreign language movie ever to be nominated for an Oscar as Best Picture.  (“Missing” is in English, as you might expect.)  And "Z" won the Oscar as Best Foreign Language Film. 
 
Costa-Gavras also co-wrote “Missing” with Donald Stewart, whose credits include the political thrillers “The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games,” and “Clear and Present Danger”.  It’s based on the book by Thomas Hauser.
 
As I mentioned, “Missing” is a true story.  It’s about when journalist Charles Horman (played in the film by John Shea) goes to Chile to cover the coup d’etat in 1973, but disappears.  What the movie focuses on is when his father (played by Lemmon) and his wife (Spacek) go down to Chile to try and find him, not knowing if he’s in prison, or being tortured, or has been killed…or what?  In some ways, it’s a detective story as they desperately try to retrace his steps (whose actions we see in flashbacks, from friends and associates) – all the while coming up against monumental roadblocks from the Chilean government, as well as U.S. government officials in Washington and those based in the U.S. embassy in Chile.
 
No, to be clear, this isn’t at all the same story as that of Kimbal Abrego Garcia being deported to El Salvador.  But the many overlaps -- a South American government in power from a coup, the concern of torture, and efforts to make contact with him and get him back, blocked by the U.S. administration -- are impossible to miss.
 
As I said, it’s a great movie, one which most people likely haven’t seen, or many even heard about.  And it’s highly-worth watching.
 
That brings up the second reason for me mentioning the film.  It’s related to one of my most memorable experience when working in Public Relations at Universal Pictures.  (“Memorable” for several reasons, but mostly not for any reason one might guess.  No matter how many guesses you have...)
 
When I worked at Universal in PR, we released “Missing.”  And my two jobs at the time were as the head PR writer, as well as the college press contact.  As part of the latter, I would get to set up screenings on the Universal lot for the film reviewers of the local college newspapers.  Usually that was all the screenings were -- just showing the movies.  But on rare occasion, the filmmakers were available to do Q&A’s afterwards.  It didn’t happen often, in fact I think maybe only twice, but boy, do those two stand out.  The first was with most of the members of Monty Python.  (We released “Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life”.)  And the other was with Costa-Gavras for “Missing." 
 
And there-in lies the tale.
 
As a slight digression, but background to explain part of my preparation, I was given audiotapes of long interviews with the real Ed Horman and Beth Horman (the father and wife).  And they were fascinating – not just for the stories they told, but the relationship between the two, which was close and even, at times, light-hearted.
 
(Also, unrelated to this tale, but interesting to the filmmaking -- from listening to the tapes, I learned that this was one area where the movie took slight liberties with real life, for dramatic purposes.  In the movie, the father and wife have opposite political beliefs, and there’s a strong conflict between them for it.  This adds to the dramatic conflict, but as the two battle the impenetrable brick-walls they face, they only have each other to rely on, and -- as the story develops -- they draw close together.  From the tapes I heard, it seemed very clear to me that they were always close.  There might have been some conflicts early on, perhaps caused by the stress of the situation, but not at the level the film portrays at first.)
 
All of which brings us to the memorable part of the tale, the Q&A.
 
The powerful, emotional movie ended.  It had a profound effect on the audience, and Costa-Gavras and I then got onstage in our chairs.  I explained to everyone that I had questions I would ask for a bit, and then open it up to the audience.  And so, with my clipboard of about a half-dozen questions, I dove in.
 
I recall it going well, and Costa giving thoughtful, interesting answers for about 20 minutes.  For all the seriousness of his movies, he had a very personable way about him.  And then, finishing all my questions -- which I expanded a bit, from his answers -- I turned to the audience of college film writers (and my own invited guests, one of the reasons, honestly, I liked having the screenings, since it meant it could invite my friends…), maybe about 75-100 people or so in total, and asked if there were any questions.
 
And there were…none.  Aghast, I waited.  But not a single hand went up.  I figured (or hoped) they were all still moved and emotional from the film, and might need a bit of time to formulate questions.  Also, people don’t tend to like to be “the first” to ask a question.  So, I asked again.  But still…there were no questions. 

The thing is, I didn’t want the Q&A to end after about so short a time.  Not just because I couldn’t believe no one among the film reviewers and others had no questions -- but also because I felt it would be insulting to Costa-Gavras who gave up his evening to be there.  What I figured people is that people needed a bit more time -- the more questions and answers that an audience hears, the more likely it prompts the a bit, and that's when their questions surface…so, quickly, to keep things going, I thought of another question to ask Costa to provide that time.
 
He gave his thoughtful answer --  at least I assumed it was, because as he spoke, I was anticipating what would happen if there still wasn’t a question from the audience.  And so, I largely tuned him out, nodding all the while as if I was listening oh-so intently, but in reality I was desperately trying to think of a next question if needed.  He finished his answer, and I turned back to the audience to ask if (now, finally) they had anything they wanted to ask.
 
And there was...nothing.  No hands.  Just faces staring back at me.  So, to bury the silence as fast as I could before it was too embarrassing for the guest, I quickly went through the same process again.  I turned back to Costa and asked that one question I had thought of -- keep in mind, anything I really had wanted to ask, I put on my clipboard and already asked -- and nodded and smiled "knowingly" as he answered, all the while I was zoned out, only a quarter-listening, and tried to think of another question.  He finished – and I turned back to the audience and asked again.  Since by now, I was sure that someone would have a question.
 
And no, there were none.  So, once more, bordering on the edge of panic, I turned back to Costa and asked him my one remaining question.  At this point, augmenting my distress, I was also starting to get a little annoyed off at the college film reviewers who knew from the invitation that Costa-Gavras would be there to answer questions, but didn’t have a single thing to ask this brilliant filmmaker about the great movie they had just seen that would be Oscar-nominated as Best Picture.  Again, I nodded to Costa and smiled as he answered, blocking out most of words while I dearly tried to think of another question.  And he finished.
 
I checked with the audience one more time -- sure, now, there would be at least one person with something to ask.  It didn't matter what.  ("Is there a bathroom?") Any questions?  Nope.  None.  I’m dying up there.  None????  I’m thinking, you have nothing to ask Costa-Gavras about anything??!!  So, once more – I ask Costa my one, random question, hoping it makes sense, he answers.  I nod and smile, hardly listening, as I try to think of, oh, God, help me, something else to ask.  And now I'm even getting pissed at my friends in the audience who, knowing me, have to see that I’m suffering, and aren’t jumping in with a question to help.  Costa finishes, and the mad cycle continues.  I ask the audience if they have any questions.
 
And by now, you’ve probably figured out there were none.  Silence.  Thoughtful faces listening.  But zero to ask. 
 
I won’t keep repeating the same endless cycle, since you've figured it out by now -- but just know that it went on for maybe three or four more questions.  I felt I needed to keep it going that long because it was still just too quick to end the Q&A and say thank you to Costa-Gavras, I appreciate you showing up and wasting your time.  I knew I had to keep it going for about eight questions and maybe 15 minutes beyond my own initial questions.  A half-hour or so would suffice.  But not one single question from anyone in the audience all evening.
 
I wish I could tell you what Costa-Gavras said during most of the evening, but even at that point, minutes after it ended…I didn’t have a clue.  I had absolutely no recollection of almost anything he said -- not just that latter part, but the entire evening -- because I spent so much of the Q&A emptily nodding and smiling, while instead wracking my brain trying, trying, trying to think of just one more question each time...that it not only blocked what he was saying at the moment, but all the effort required had pushed out anything that was said earlier.
 
Afterwards, I went up to some of my friends (or, as I was thinking of them at the time, my so-called friends) and asked them how in the world could they not ask even just one question???!!  I explained what I’d been going through, and asked, “Couldn’t you tell I was a total mess up there and in hell?!!”  And to a person they said, “Really??  No.  You seemed fine.”

Seriously???
 
So, the good news is that I hid it well.  The bad news is that because I hid it well, none of my friends felt that there was any need to help me out of my mortifying desperation.
 
And that’s the other reason that “Missing” is so memorable to me.  Well...at least what I can remember of the evening, that is, of course…
 
“Missing” airs on TCM tomorrow, Tuesday, April 22 at 11 PM Los Angeles time.  My experience after the screening aside, it’s a great movie.

If you have any questions, just ask.
 
Here’s the trailer.