Harrison's Flowers (2000)

Director:

Elie Chouraqui

Writers:

Isabel Ellsen (book)
Elie Chouraqui (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 January 2001 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Sometimes love is the only proof you need.

Plot:

When a Newsweek photojournalist disappears in war-torn Yugoslavia, his wife travels to Europe to find him.

Plot Keywords:

Yugoslavia | Greenhouse | Search For Spouse | Hospital | New York

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Andie MacDowell	...	Sarah Lloyd
Elias Koteas	...	Yeager Pollack
Brendan Gleeson	...	Marc Stevenson
Adrien Brody	...	Kyle Morris
David Strathairn	...	Harrison Lloyd
Alun Armstrong	...	Samuel Brubeck
Caroline Goodall	...	Johanna Pollack
Diane Baker	...	Mary Francis
Quinn Shephard	...	Margaux Lloyd
Marie Trintignant	...	Cathy
Christian Charmetant	...	Jeff
Gerard Butler	...	Chris Kumac, photojournalist
Scott Anton	...	Cesar Lloyd (as Scott Michael Anton)
Christopher Clarke	...	David
Dragan Antonic	...	Chetnik

Also Known As:

Les fleurs d'Harrison (France) (subtitle)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong war violence and gruesome images, pervasive language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

130 min | USA:121 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Serbian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Iceland:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A | France:U | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Company:

7 Films Cinéma

Goofs:

Continuity: When Eric, Sarah and Marc are driving through the war-torn countryside trying to make their way to the hospital where they believe Harrison might be, the large SUV they are driving has a giant "TV" painted in white on the front windshield. Seen from the inside, the letters are huge, but from outside they are much smaller.

Quotes:

Marc Stevenson: I saw snipers shooting kids, and then making checkmarks on the wall.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Its a matter of feeling

I just saw "Welcome to Sarajevo", a film that got a lot of press and positive remarks when it came out. I only suspect that much of the press was based on the fact that it came out only a couple of years after the end of that terrible war in Bosnia.

Just as in "Welcome" this film also depicts the life of journalists, trying to understand and convey the happenings in a country once believed to be almost western. (Which, I suspect, is the reason that it had such an impact on the western psyche.) As everbody else has pointed out this is where the best characters are found, especially Adrian Brodys character.

Several others have already pointed out that the main story revolving around a lost love and an heroic wife trying to save her husband is really awkward. But since you need somekind of story, that might just as well be it. I saw this film a second time just recently and actually managed to ignore the plot and focuse on the description of the madness that was eastern Croatia in the early 1990´s.

This film has an incredible feeling, the settings, the photography and the score makes it come really close to being in an actual war. I cant really praise this enough. Compared to "Welcome" this film hits you in the guts as it shows the brutality of urban warfare and the senseless killings that occur in all wars.

Other films about Bosnia that are recommended if you like this one, "No mans land", "Pretty Village, Pretty fire" and "Savior". And why not give "Welcome" a chance too.