Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Brooklynn
There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.
Raven-1969
A young woman slips away into the night while her family is preoccupied at their beloved country western fair. "Don't look for me," she writes "I have the life I have chosen now." Her father and brother search anyway, across continents and time. The girl's father is particularly obsessed with the search. He throws his life and savings into the pursuit, learns Arabic and travels to the ends of the earth at the slightest hint of her whereabouts. "Forget about your daughter," he is told "go back home and take care of your son." Yet the father sees nothing else beyond the chase. This blinding, relentless pursuit comes with severe consequences. It consumes them, these cowboys - these men and women from scattered lands, if they cannot let go. Some can let go, others cannot. Some get second chances.Intriguing themes of Les Cowboys include letting go and the search for purpose and empathy (or lack thereof) in life. The wonderful cinematography and soundtrack of the film deftly convey emotion. Excellent screen writing; Bidegain is a screen writer turned director. His writing/co-writing credits include films I admire; A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and Dheepan. John C. Reilly makes a surprise appearance.
GUENOT PHILIPPE
This magnificent movie is for me a terrific tribute to the western genre in many points and to John Ford's THE SEARCHERS in particular. Two men - father and son - leave everything to search for a runaway female relative, daughter and sister. A wayward girl who escaped from them. The main difference here is that the Muslim community replaces the Indian one. I also thought of Paul Schrader's HARDCORE, where Georges C Scott was also in search of his daughter, lost in the porno underworld. That's a true poignant overwhelming story that made me weep and also brought a terrific unexpected sequence, just in the middle of the movie. I don't want to spoil you this feature but, believe me, you'll be more than surprised. Hollywood film industry would have never given us such a movie, for sure. Awesome ending and an outstanding François Damiens.
gregsmart
I caught this movie at the Toronto International Film Fest and quite liked it. It's the kind of movie that sticks with you for a few days after you watch it. I don't think it's meant to be a remake of The Searchers as some reviewers have posited, except in the fact that it follows a families search for their daughter, who has converted to Islam and run away from home.The plot is a generational epic that follows the story of a French family torn apart in degrees by the departure and search for their daughter. Over the course of the film, the protagonist changes, refreshingly breaking from formulaic Hollywood precedents. The first leg of the film follows the father, who is obsessive and ego- centric in his search for his daughter. The second part of the film follows his son as he picks up the quest and demonstrates that that the sins of the father are not always visited upon the son. Thematically, the story is built around the idea of contemporary Europe and the Muslim world being a clash of civilizations, much like the cowboys and indians. It is not a classic Western by any stretch, but thematic and aesthetic elements are there to get across the comparison. All in all, I thought it was a beautiful and ultimately hopeful movie... worth a watch.
roland-wirtz
What a mess of a film!The only best part was when it finally ended. Les Cowboys is another unnecessary remake (or reboot or whatever they are called these days). Did the director really think he could top John Ford's The Searchers in terms of storytelling and direction? Why would someone do a remake otherwise? Well, no surprise, John Ford's boots are way too big for Thomas Bidegain. There's a certain arrogance in Les Cowboys that really rubbed me the wrong way. Watching this film felt like watching a 10 year old basketball player trying to keep up with NBA's Dream Team because he's convinced that he's better than all of them. Bidegain (a first time director) thought he had what it takes to tell a story like The Searchers. The fact that he thought he could is actually pretty bold and arrogant. And I can say the same thing about its writer, Noe Debre. Well, as John Wayne would've said: Back to the drawing board, pilgrims!