French director Elie Chouraqui adapts the novel of the same name into this drama, that, although set in 1991, became tragically topical in the weeks before its release due to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah, a photo editor for Newsweek and the happily married wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Harrison has been reconsidering his career of covering the world's war zone "hot spots" in order to
spend more time with his family, and is accused by his colleague, Kyle (Adrien Brody), of playing it too safe in his risky profession. Harrison elects to accept one more combat assignment to cover the simmering tensions in Croatia, a conflict that quickly erupts into a full-scale, genocidal Civil War. Informed that Harrison is believed to have been killed in the fighting, Sarah refuses to accept her husband's death and becomes convinced that she's seen him, alive, in a news broadcast. She travels to Croatia on a quest to find him, and is eventually aided by Kyle, as well as two of Harrison's other colleagues, Yeager (Elias Koteas) and Stevenson (Brendan Gleeson). The group, armed with cameras instead of weapons, witnesses the horrors and atrocities unfolding in the region, while tracing the elusive path of Harrison, who may well be dead already. Harrison's Flowers was distributed by Universal Focus, the art house division of Universal Pictures that previously released Mulholland Drive (2001) and Billy Elliott (2000). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Director Elie Chouraqui, who co-wrote the script, catches the chaotic horror of war, but why bother if you're going to subjugate truth to the tear-jerking demands of soap opera?
A stronger actress, say Michelle Pfeiffer or Cate Blanchette, would have given this political melodrama more credibility and power, but Andie MacDowell is poorly cast and she seems lost.
Lacking gravitas, MacDowell is a placeholder for grief, and ergo this sloppy drama is an empty vessel. Leave these Flowers unpicked -- they're dead on the vine.
Hope, desperation and the ugliness of ethnic cleansing intersect elegantly in director Elie Chouraqui's intense retelling of the 1991 Croatian-Serbian conflict in Yugoslavia.
Ultimately, Sarah's dedication to finding her husband seems more psychotic than romantic, and nothing in the movie makes a convincing case that one woman's broken heart outweighs all the loss we witness.
Very good movie. Good story and very good acting by Adrien, Andie and Brendan. Can be disturbing at times and has some very graphic scenes, but well worth seeing. Makes you have a better appreciation for those that risk their life to capture photos of countries that are at war!
October 1, 2006
Sonya Dickerson
I totally agree with Mr. Fetzer's review. Adrian Brody is always outstanding although in my opinion was miscast. I couldn't appreciate Elias Koteas' performance. It just wasn't there. I still have mixed feelings about Andie MacDowell. As in all of her movies it seems she does okay but doesn't reach any higher.
This movie does a tremendous job of depicting the utter tragedy of war also known as "ethnic cleansing." Special note of Gerry's small contribution makes me smile.
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