Chechnya, 1999. Among thousands of others, four people are affected by the horrors of war. After seeing his parents killed, 9-year-old Hadji escapes without knowing his older sister Raïssa has survived and is looking for him. Assigned with gathering witnesses among the victims for the Human Rights Commission, Carol finds the boy alone among the ruins and decides to offer him shelter. On the other side of the front, 19-year-old Kolia is recruited into the army, where he is forced into violence.

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A tough return for Michel Hazanavicius and Bérénice Bejo. Showered with praise for The Artist at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival that lasted all the way to the Oscars – where he won for Best Director and she made do with a nomination – the couple is experiencing a cold shower thanks to The Search, an ambitious melodrama set during war, inspired by the little-known movie of the same name, which won the Best Screenplay Oscar in 1949. Hazanavicius replaces Germany with Chechnya and the soldier with an HRC employee, but despite his efforts, the movie has a hard time stirring up the emotions it aims for. With 20 minutes edited out after an icy reception at Cannes, The Search is somewhat more effective and has a few good scenes, but doesn’t really set things right. The story between the HRC employee and the boy remains somewhat awkward, while the movie itself seems incapable of meeting its great romantic ambitions.