The Searchers | 100 Movies Bucket List

This was a first time watch, but because it's been an inspiration for a lot of different films, including a couple from this year's bucket list, I already had a good idea of what it was about.

Westerns have never been my go-to genre, but I did like the plot of this one, so I was looking forward to seeing it.

I liked this film.

For a start, as mentioned, I really liked the plot. It's an idea that has inspired many films because it's a somewhat universal tale of revenge and how far you'll go for family.

The characters are really interesting. Obviously we are mainly focused on Ethan, as it is him that we follow, get to know and empathise with. But all of the characters in the film are well written, and even the ones with less screen time and dialogue are still written well enough that we can get to know them.

Speaking of the writing, one of the best things about the film is the way it's written. This is a really well-rounded films that feels authentic and real.

Researching this film, there's a few aspects that are considered controversial both for modern audiences and audiences of the time. And it's interesting to look at this from both perspectives - to see this from the viewpoint of the time it was made in, while also seeing this from the p.o.v of a modern audience and being able to balance those two ideas. 

Without delving into what should and shouldn't be made and shown, being able to have these differing ideas, even just thinking about it independently, is why films with 'controversial' ideas still have an important place in the changing world.

But there's also the argument I've seen floating around social media about being able to decipher the difference between a character's views, and those also being the views of the filmmaker. For this film in particular, it is clear that our main character has certain views that don't necessarily reflect the views of everyone around him, and therefore just add to who the character is, rather than making big statements about the real world at this time.

In films like this, the journey is more important than the destination, and the journey is what keeps viewers watching. We want to see the conclusion, but we're much more concerned with the events that lead up to it.

So I definitely think this is worth a watch, especially if you don't have much experience with classic westerns.