The Search
This page avoids major plot turns, twists, and ending details. It’s designed to help first-time viewers decide if this movie is right for them.What counts as a spoiler can vary by viewer.
The bones have been collected. Now, they must be identified. Filmmakers Daniel Lagares and Mariano Agudo follow three people as they struggle with the legacy of the civil war that ravaged Peru for 20 years. In 1980, the Shining Path movement launched an armed struggle aimed at overthrowing the Peruvian government and instituting a Communist regime. By the time the civil war ended, 70,000 Peruvians had been killed. Government and guerrilla forces were both guilty of horrendous human rights abuses. Powerful, emotional, and beautifully filmed, The Search captures the ongoing trauma of war even decades later for participants, bystanders, and children. The Shining Path uprising polarized Peru, but "The Search" does not lay blame. It is a film about truth, reconciliation and the quest for peace and closure.