Rating: 
Summary: Terrible story and acting partially redeemed by war footage
Review: "Harrison's Flowers" would be complete and utter cinematic dreck were it not for the fact that it presents an honest and unflinching portrayal of the extreme dangers faced by the brave men and women who covered the Balkan Wars in the early to mid '90s. That harrowing depiction of the journalists and photojournalists aside, "Harrison's Flowers" is not even close to being a good enough movie to recommend.
The story of this film centers on the disappearance of gifted photojournalist, Harrison Lloyd (David Straitharn), while covering for Newsweek civil conflict in the former Yugoslavia. It is presumed by everyone that Harrison was captured and executed by aggressive rebels along with a number of other innocents. Everyone assumes he is dead, except his wife, Sarah (Andie MacDowell), who believes she saw him in obscure camera footage recorded after his supposed death and believes him to be alive. So, she decides to take off on a quest to bring Harrison back home alive. Among those who end up assisting her in this goal is Harrison's professional rival, Kyle (Adrien Brody), and a few other photojournalists played by Elias Koteas and Brendan Gleeson.
Let's stop for a minute and analyze what is taking place. Sarah Lloyd is a typical soccer mom who understands her husband's chosen career and the dangers inherent in it, but she has no knowledge of how to perform that job. Yet, now she wants to go on a crusade to rescue to her husband in a foreign land where outsiders are raped, assaulted, and murdered just for fun. She does this even though she has young children who need to be looked after and are already reeling from the supposed loss of one parent. Sarah has no knowledge, experience, or support that would make anyone think she has a remote chance of achieving her goal, let alone surviving. She just flies off blindly on a mission that could very likely leave her children as orphans.
Interestingly enough, that display of complete irresponsibility is not even the worst part of this film. What really undermines this film is a smattering of unexplained and unnecessary characters, plot developments straight from the 'cliché handbook', and a truly atrocious performance by the lead who plays Sarah, Andie MacDowell. While there is no disputing MacDowell's ability to convey Sarah's grief, that is all the range that MacDowell shows throughout the whole movie. It's impossible to believe that this woman who seems to have no emotions other than crying, whining, and shrieking could be able to be functional enough to even go on this quest, let alone succeed in it. She seems truly and utterly helpless and the audience cannot make a great enough leap to believe that her undying love (and help from a few colleagues) would be enough to guide her to Harrison.
The plot developments from 'clichés 'R Us' includes such tired conventions as one character being too scared to move out of the line of fire, so a brave character goes to save him and gets shot instead. Uggh! I saw that turn of events coming a mile away, and so will anyone will any movie-going experience. Among the superfluous characters is an eager young Balkan gentleman who is bent on providing transportation to Sarah once she lands in country and seems to have been authorized by someone to provide that assistance. Yet, there are no further allusions made to what this character's purpose is and when he's killed three minutes later, he is all but forgotten. Such a character can be explained if this were a documentary or based on a actual people and events, but in a fictional drama, it's just distracting.
This incredibly trite, implausible story would garner a one-star rating if it were not for the uncompromising depiction of the Balkan War. Perhaps if the filmmakers had decided to change to the focus and deal strictly with the war and its atrocities, then they might have had something. Instead, they use a real tragedy to play backdrop to a threadbare love story. Unacceptable!
Rating: 
Summary: Feels a bit distanced from emotional connectivity.
Review: "I would have felt something break inside if he were dead," sobs Sarah Lloyd after learning that her photo journalist husband has been killed on duty in Yugoslavia. Set in 1991, during a time of civil war, "Harrison's Flowers" is a somewhat murky exploration of human strength in times of distress, tacking a well-constructed production design to an emotionally mute story line that has its moments, and manages to keep one's interest for a reasonable portion of its lengthy duration. Andie MacDowell plays Sarah, whose husband, Harrison (David Strathairn), is a Pulitzer-winning photographer who shoots various images for Newsweek, Life, and Time magazines. Oh, and he likes to keep up the flowers in his greenhouse, too, in case we should think he's all about work and no play. After deciding he's had enough of traveling to war-torn countries to take poignant snapshots, his boss convinces him to take one last job in Yugoslavia, where a civil war is breaking out. Sarah is supportive in his decision to go, like any good-natured wife would be. Her support turns to disbelief when she walks into work one morning and becomes the center of silent attention, which can only mean one thing: Harrison is dead. There's only one catch: no one saw his body being removed from the collapsed house that supposedly took his life. Sarah, in what we first believe is a deep sense of denial, sees an image of a shattered greenhouse on CNN, spots a man whom she believes is Harrison, and heads to Yugoslavia to find him herself. So far, we've been given a so-so setup with a couple of meandering moments and throwaway subplots crossed with one or two important ones. The Lloyd's young son, Cesar, harbors a silent resistance for his father as a result of his absence, but it is never expanded upon, and never comes into play as it should. The whole greenhouse and flower connection is corny, but without it, there would be no basis for the movie's equally corny title. A beginning scene at the Pulitzer awards introduces Adrian Brody as a photo journalist who lashes out at Harrison in angst over his less-accomplished friend's death; later, out of guilt, he helps Sarah make it safely through enemy territory. The second half of the movie places us in the rugged terrain of Yugoslavia, where members of the press and television camera crews make their way through battle by driving in cars marked with the letters "TV." Your acceptance of these scenes depends on how much of your disbelief you are willing to suspend, from scenes like a near-rape involving Sarah and several enemy soldiers (but from which side of the fighting?), to their many near-misses and close calls with dropping bombs and sniper bullets. The film gets the look of war right, with settings and ramshackle towns ravished by the effects of continuous firepower that look authentic and realistically haunting. Yet, however real they may look, the war scenes lack the effectiveness of such films as "We Were Soldiers" or "Black Hawk Down," mainly because we know that our small group of reporters is going to survive no matter what stands in their way. In a solid performance, MacDowell makes a good, but not entirely lasting impression as a wife and mother torn between disbelief and reality. Her character's interactions with those touched by war is not as prevalent as is needed to get a feel for the emotional taxation of such traumatic events, but she does try. The overall movie feels a bit distanced from any sort of emotional connectivity, but it does have redeeming qualities as a time-waster without much afterthought to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Possibly the best film about the Yugoslavian Civil War
Review: ...to date. Plot lapses aside, this was the best western-produced film about the breakup of Yugoslavia I've seen. The depiction of war was graphic but did a good job in conveying the atrocities that occurred during the conflict. I can sit here and pick away at some of the inconceivable events that occur throughout the film, the need for more character development, etc. but the real accomplishment here is communicating the horrors of war to a general public that to this day is somewhat confused about what really happened over there. If you've seen other films like "Welcome To Sarajevo", "Savior" "Behind Enemy Lines" or "Shot Through The Heart," then this will put them all to shame in regards to the portrayal of war. Other films I can recommend are "Vukovar", "Pretty Village, Pretty Flame" and "No Man's Land."
Rating:
Summary: This is not Groundhog Day
Review: Andi MacDowell of the dark, crimped hair, the love interest of Three Weddings and a Funeral and Ground Hog Day plays this one seriously. Yugoslavia breaks up faster than the Yugo. Christians, the Orthodox, and Moslems rape and kill indiscriminately in WW2 style battles through ancient cities back in the early 90's. Clinton and the UN send in troops to break this one up. Clinton promises the troops will be home by Christmas. They are still there, but the New York Times never complains. I digress.
Would a woman with two children go into hell to find her missing husband? I don't think so unless it was in the middle of a Macy's special. I'm sorry. Just wanted to say that the idea of Andi getting into Yugoslavia and finding a needle in a bloody haystack is absurd, but this movie does show the blood bath. In fact, the director seems to wallow in needless body counts. Yes there were atrocities. I have less understanding of the conflict after this movie than I had before. What's this all about?
There is a fine performance by Adrien Brody as the hyperactive photojournalist. His buddy Brendan Gleason does a fine job too.
Rating:
Summary: Not accepting "until death do us part"
Review: Andie MacDowell is an engaging actress whose films I don't see often enough, yet am gratified when I do. In HARRISON'S FLOWERS, MacDowell plays Sarah Lloyd, the wife of Pulitzer prize-winning photographer Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Both work for Newsweek. Early on, Harrison is persuaded by his boss to take on one last assignment into harm's way. (This worn out plot device may cause the viewer to cringe. But, let's move on.) So, off Harrison goes with his camera gear to the debris field that was Yugoslavia. It's 1991, and the Croats and Serbs are at each other's throats. A couple weeks later, Sarah receives word that her husband was apparently killed in a building collapse. However, in her gut she believes him to be still alive. So, off she jets to the war zone, leaving her two young children behind, to bring hubby home. After arriving in Graz, Austria, Sarah rents a car with the intent of driving to Vukovar, where she hopes to find Harrison in the local hospital. In the rental lot, she offers a ride to a young Yugoslav returning from Paris to find his wife. Soon after transiting the border, they cross paths with a rampaging tank accompanied by some very nasty troops, and Sarah is horrifically initiated into the brutal realities of the Serbo-Croat civil war. In Sarah's subsequent tortuous quest into Hell, Andie's character takes a back seat to those gamely played by Adrien Brody (Kyle Morris) and Brendan Gleeson (Mark Stevenson), media photographers who take Sarah under their wings while moving her forward. For her part, Sarah seems emotionally and psychologically dazed amidst the sudden, random violence and rains of aerial bombs and artillery shells. HARRISON'S FLOWERS is a gritty, tense and powerful tale in which the French director, Elie Chouraqui, makes no attempt to enlighten the audience on the cultural gulf separating Serb and Croat or the genesis of this particular inter-tribal slaughter. And, for insular U.S. audiences constantly puzzled by Balkan excesses, it probably doesn't matter - all the combatants are crazy. It's hard to say if the blood lust of the region is realistically depicted or not. However, remembering newspaper reports of the period, it would seem to be. Although the plot is implausible - middle class, American wife swept along to an uncertain destination in the currents of ethnic cleansing - the film is a shocking look at a time and place that most viewers can be thankful they only heard about. And it's probably the closest Andie MacDowell will ever come to being an action hero.
Rating:
Summary: An average movie
Review: Harrison Lloyd is a photographer who is asked to go into some very dangerous situations. He talks to his editor about going somewhere safer in deference to his family, and he is told that there is one more assignment he needs to take. He is asked to go into war-torn Yugoslavia, which he does. His wife Sarah is told that he has died, but she is convinced that he has not because if this were true "something would have broken inside me". (What writer made up that line?) She becomes obsessed with finding him and tape records all the t.v. news coverage of the area. She finally spots him, and, against all odds she travels to the area and gets through places where no one else can. She is accompanied by her husband's photographer buddies who turn away enemy fire by merely holding up their cameras and shouting "Press!" The whole movie comes across as a bit hokey and it's hard to be serious about it when Sarah Lloyd is turned into some kind of Wonder Woman, who is impervious to the bullets which are all around her.
Rating:
Summary: War is Hell...but didn't we know that?
Review: Harrison's Flowers is an interesting and intense look at the 1991 war in Croatia. Andie McDowell portrays Sarah, the wife of a Newsweek war photographer (David Strathairn) presumed dead somewhere in Croatia. The film starts in New York's Newsweek building and we see the journalists dismissing the war as ethnic skirmishes. Sarah rents a car in Graz and gives a ride to a Croatian going to get his wife and child out. As they cross the border the killing starts. We run into Serb Chetniks and Croatian forces as they kill everyone that can find. The war scenes are very realistic, capturing the horror of that war. Usually it's focused on the victims after they're killed, the scenes implying all the terror and horror that occurred. Sarah travels with a group of photojournalists toward Vukovar where the war is most intense, all in an against all odds attempt to find her husband. A few comments: the fiction of the story is obvious, as if this really occurred it would probably be one of the most famous stories of the war. And the vehicle used for introducing the Western viewer has been done many times: inject an innocent American into the blooshed. Also remember the Croatia war lasted a couple months with about 10,000 dead....the soon after
Bosnia war (ignored in this film) lasted over 3 years killing 250,000 people. The film ends back in the safety of New York...until September 11th. And it's dedicated to the 47 journalists who died, not the hundreds of thousands of other innocent people. If only the West stopped it...well history is made up of "if onlys".
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars for a decent movie.
Review: Harrison's Flowers is one of the rare movies which shows the reality or rather "truth" of the Serbian siege of the proud Croatian city of vukovar. While the story of the film is OK, the reality and savagery of the attack on Vukovar nearly brought me to tears. This once beautiful and proud city was mercilessly razed to the ground in 1991 by the Yugoslav National Army and their cohorts, the Chetnik "irregulars." Chetniks being nothing but lowly murderers of the innocent. Whilst the movie holds the savagery true to life, the story needed more development from the War aspect. I think that some film maker may want to take this subject in and of its own and develop a film about the demolition and siege of the city itself. In the area around Vukovar there were over 600 tanks and armoured carriers, as well as several thousand well-armed Chetniks and mobilized reservists. There were large numbers of all kinds of artillery weapons, the enemy had an abundance of ammunition, and there was no way to stop the Serbian warplanes. On the other side, Vukovar was defended by several hundred Croatian Guardsmen and policemen, as well as about 1000 volunteers with no military experience. The defenders had modest weapons: semi-automatic and automatic guns, several machine guns and artillery guns, and some simple armour-piercing weapons. Weapons, food and medical supplies were brought in for a time through a narrow corridor through the maize fields near the villages of Marinci and Bogdanovci. Data of military statistical character help to explain the contribution of Vukovar to the defense of Croatia and illustrate why Vukovar was in the focus of media attention from all over the world and why it is beeing studied as a special phenomenon by military therorists. About a 1800 defenders took part in the defense of Vukovar while it was under siege. About 60% of these were citizens of Vukovar, while the rest were patriots from other parts of Croatia and from Bosnia and Herzegovina. A third of the defenders managed to break out of Vukovar in small groups, about 500-600 were killed, while the rest were imprisoned or wounded. Fascinating results were achieved in battle using the meagre weapons described above: over 300 tanks and armoured carries were destroyd, about 25 warplanes were shot down, while the number of dead Chetniks is estimated at 5000 - 7000, with 20000 - 30000 wounded. Vukovar and the rest of the aggression was Serbia's version of "The Final Solution" as far as the Croats were concerned. A little known fact about this city is that the Serb had bombarded it with the destructive force of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 19445. Can anyone imagine the destruction?!!! I am rambling. Andie MacDowell did an excellent job. Her acting was superb. Save for some plot holes, it was a good movie. if anyone in Hollywood reads these reviewd, please consider making a complete story of the sad story of Vukovar and her proud and brave defenders.
Rating:
Summary: A TESTAMENT OF LOVE!!!
Review: HARRISON'S FLOWERS WAS A HEARTWARMING AND SAD STORY ABOUT THE SIDE-EFFECTS OF WAR AND THE BOUNDARIES OF LOVE.
IT HELPS US TO RECOGNIZE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE INDIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE CONDITIONS OF WAR!!
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE THAT PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR THE FREEDOM OF OTHERS, OR IN THIS CASE, FOR THEIR JOBS.
THE ACTING WAS VERY GOOD AND THE FILM WAS VERY TOUCHING.
THE REASON I AM GIVING THIS DVD A 4 STAR RATING IS BECAUSE ALTHOUGH THE SOUND AND PICTURE IS GREAT, THERE ARE NO EXTRA FEATURES ON THIS DVD!!!
AS FAR AS THE MOVIE IS CONCERNED, I RECOMMEND IT IF YOU ENJOY GOOD DRAMA.
BID IN MIND, THE FILM IS SLOW AT TIMES, BUT ALL-IN-ALL IT IS A TOUCHING AND MEMORABLE MOVIE EXPERIENCE!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Harrison's Flowers
Review: I passed up this movie when it came out in theaters but I recently watched it on DVD and realized this had been a mistake. I actually saw it the same day as "The Pianist" and prefered Harrison's Flowers. It's not for the weak of heart and very realistic but manages to remain human without excessive sentimentality. The cinematography is beautiful and I love all the actors. Special mention to Andrian Brody who I found was endearing, without trying to be. All in all a really good movie which is probably more informative about the realities of war than any television media coverage.
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