**Spoiler Alert**
Director: Thomas Bidegain/Starring: Francois Damiens, Finnegan Oldfield, Ellora Torchia, Agatha Dronne, Mounir Margoum, John C. Reilly and Iliana Zabeth
Thomas Bidegain, writer of Rust and Bone and A Prophet, makes his directorial debut with Les Cowboys, which is based on John Ford's classic western The Searchers. Unlike Ford's old American west setting, Bidegain's story takes place in modern day France and instead of Comanches as villains, we have a young woman abducted by what appear to be Muslims. Though many aspects of Bidegain's film depart from the original story, the obsessive search that characterized Ford's film remains.
Bidegain's film is unsentimental, often gritty and a powerful portrayal of how two men's indefatigable efforts to find a family member leads them down a destructive path.
Francois Damiens plays Alain Balland; a husband and a father of two whose fascination with American cowboy culture draws him and his family to a fair where cowboy hats and boots, jeans and line-dancing are the order of the day. During the fair, Alain and his wife are unable to find their daughter Kelly (Iliana Zabeth). They search frantically, only to come away empty. Finding local law enforcement to be hopelessly ineffectual, Alain initiates his own search. Aware that her Muslim boyfriend Ahmed may be connected to her abduction, Alain follows a lead to a Gypsy camp; a place where she is rumored to be staying. His disregard for danger nearly nearly costs him his life when he angrily storms the camp, only to find his daughter has vanished.
Alain's search has its costs as his family life begins to suffer. He learns his wife is seeing another man while his son Georges refuses to join his father. The film takes a tragic turn when Alain falls asleep at the wheel while driving on the freeway one night. The story cuts abruptly and without a preparatory transition to a time several years in the future as we see Georges as a young man. Though Alain is gone, his obsession to find Kelly lives on in Georges as he discovers his sister may be in Pakistan. Georges embarks on a dangerous mission to find his sister.
In Pakistan, he meets a mysterious American (John C. Reilly) who specializes in finding people for a price though his operational methods seem more CIA. In spite of Georges' misgivings, the American's command of the native tongue and his willingness to help find Kelly make him the best option in a bad situation.
A subsequent scene where the men ride into a town on horseback may put one in a cowboy frame of mind.
Though the American's intentions seem sincere, his agenda leaves Georges naturally wary. When the American excuses himself to talk to Pakistani contacts, Georges happens to see Kelly's boyfriend Ahmed (Mounir Margoum). He immediately arms himself with the American's pistol then tails him, hoping to to be led to his sister. He follows him into his house but instead of finding Kelly, he happens upon Ahmed's wife Shazhana (Ellora Torchia), who becomes frightened at the sight of the intruder armed with a pistol. Ahmed appears, recognizes Georges and reaches for a gun, but is slow to draw. Georges kills him and tries to escape, only to be set upon by neighbors and villagers, who beat him severely. Georges ends up jail, as does Shazhana, who is accused of collaborating in her husband's death. The American shows up and though it appears he will negotiate Georges' release, he only haggles to have his handgun returned to him; ignoring his friend completely.
Just as it seems both Georges and Shazhana will meet respective executions, representatives from the French embassy intervene. Fearing Shazhana will be killed, Georges arranges for her release and asylum in France, for returning home means certain death.
Together they leave Pakistan for France but not before Shazhana informs Georges that Ahmed divorced Kelly after an unhappy marriage. Feeling responsible for ruining her life, Georges becomes Shazhana's caretaker by default; becoming her provider in all but name.
The racism she experiences in France is particularly virulent. We see an instance of post-9/11 animosity during a visit to the cowboy fair. Shazhana wears a head covering while demonstrating her riding prowess but is set upon afterward by an angry French woman, who tries to tear the garment off her head.
The film leaps ahead to the future again as we see Shazhana and Georges; happily married with a kid. I liked the irony of Georges coming away from Pakistan with a Muslim woman; an unexpected development in the narrative. His life becomes something not unlike his sister. But he finds his burning desire to find Kelly has yet to ebb when he discovers his sister is living in Antwerp. The final scene is quite powerful and notable for its lack of dialogue.
Unlike The Searchers, Bidegain's film features two characters whose lives are changed irrevocably by a search for a family member. Les Cowboys also features an ending that is hardly heroic and upbeat. There is no John Wayne machismo here, only the pursuits of two desperate, naive men. Like Ford's classic, the abductee is a willing captive but unlike the American version, Bidegain's conclusion is more pessimistic.
Bidegain has a natural, deft touch with the actors. Francois Damiens gives a taut, sympathetic performance, as does Finnegan Oldfield, who nearly steals the show. O'Reilly's role is slight but he ensures we remember his small part.
I really liked Bidegain's film but can't say I absolutely loved it. It is moving but not masterful. But it comes close to being so. At the heart of both films is the issue of racism. Ethan Edwards' vendetta against the Comanche is echoed in Alain and Georges' desire to "rescue" Kelly from her Muslim marriage.
I think his decision to retell The Searchers and set it in modern day France was gutsy. I think it works and it works well.
