MovieChat Forums > The Searchers (1956) Discussion > 5 Years...

5 Years...

posted 8 years ago by michael-cassity
4 replies | jump to latest

I love westerns but this one leaves me scratching my head.

Is there some significance or underlying theme to the 5 year search? Other than it's a vehicle to show that Debbie is changed - now loyal to her "people" after such a long period.

Ethan is driven by his hatred of the Indians, perhaps more so than family loyalty and justice. But what of Martin? What was his motivation given that he risked losing Laury?

Definitely a movie intended to have more depth than the other westerns of this era. I'm just not sure I follow why the two main characters were so committed to the search while others moved on with their lives.

[–] cfwente 8 years ago

"Definitely a movie intended to have more depth than the other westerns of this era. I'm just not sure I follow why the two main characters were so committed to the search ..."

You may find the answer(s) to that when you go deeper into the "depth" of the film. Watch it again.

[–] michael-cassity 8 years ago

It's a visually stunning movie and I can always watch the Duke... Yet the range war, aging gunfighter makes good, man with no gun tames corrupt town, etc. More compelling in my humble opinion.

[–] ghtx 8 years ago

There were definitely conflicting loyalties, and the duration of the search emphasizes the importance of these. For Ethan, he was motivated both by his hatred of the Comanche, his thirst for vengeance, and his desire to rescue his niece (probably in that order). Martin was loyal to his adopted family, more so than to his betrothed.

[–] vinidici 8 years ago

Martin was loyal to his adopted family, more so than to his betrothed.

Oftentimes men take the harder path out of loyalty not just to their families but for their women they love, though; how could Martin be the kind of husband he ought to be if he had returned home not having fulfilled the mission?

Martin would forever be second-guessing his decision to abandon the quest and not be wreaking vengeance on the perpetrators of the massacre; he would be continually looking over his shoulder, always wondering when and if the Comanche would come back for yet more butchery as they had already done twice before; he would feel remiss in having not dealt with the likelihood of his future wife's and children's lives being jeopardized by yet another Comanche raid; and he would be unable to contain moods and anxieties that would put a strain on his future marriage.

Martin himself wouldn't be able to articulate the reasons I've just outlined, but these were nevertheless his instinctive motivations behind his decision to stick with Ethan in the dogged search for the enemy and Ethan's abducted niece.

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