Searching Review

Combining a solid script with some fascinating technical innovations, Searching manages to tell a story equal parts suspenseful and heartwarming.

If you look back at all the movies you have seen this year, you should find that even in 2018, mainstream mobile phones are still rare, and the Internet and social media are hard to find. I think the main reason behind this is probably because of the microblogging and turning around the circle of friends. Although it is fun when you look at it, it is too monotonous and normal on the screen, which hinders most viewers from seeing them. The experience that is pursued away from reality in cinema films. Even so, as everyone in today's life, especially in the life of teenagers, is becoming more and more important, filmmakers apparently have not kept pace with the times. For this reason, a movie like "Network Tracing" is very valuable.

The title of the film is a pun, as it refers to both the search of information on the Internet and the meaning of finding something in the traditional sense. The film tells the story of a father in the current information age, using the Internet and social media to find the missing high school daughter.

The reason why this film first attracted me is also the biggest highlight of my mind after watching. It is undoubtedly its innovation in narrative tools. There isn't a real "picture" in the whole film. Every shot is on a screen, from the notebook desktop of the father and the daughter, to the live broadcast of a live broadcast platform on the external network, and even the news screen of the local TV station. All the plots. Development and character are reflected in the conversion of screens. The first piece of the film is especially brilliant. Only through the repeated landing of the three Windows accounts of the protagonist, the happiness and frustration of the family for more than ten years are clearly displayed.     

However, the film does not stop using this "screen narrative" as a way of telling stories, but tries to show the current complete network environment. From the overwhelming advertising interface that popped up when the live platform was opened, the endless self-portrait posts on Instagram, to the various speculations of conspiracy theorists on Reddit after the disappearance of the girl, Facebook quickly said the phrase "thoughts and prayers" through hotspots. Netizens, YouTube's video for the compelling "Title Party". Although the "image" of the Internet and social media in the film is not positive, it is definitely the most realistic restoration I have ever seen.

Having said that, the film is not close to the visual narrative, and the script is quite solid. As a suspense story, the film maintains a feeling of tension and uneasiness throughout the whole process. The rhythm is slack, although it never reveals too many clues in a short period of time, it does make the words and sentences consistent with previous or subsequent content. Responding to it can be regarded as an excellent model of suspense.     With the storyline and the eye-catching narrative style, I believe that this film is absolutely worthy of praise at home and abroad. The only thing that worries me a bit is that the vivid narrative style of this film will surely cause the imitation of a lot of filmmakers after the success of this film. What quality can these follow-up films achieve, it is probably difficult to guarantee......