\’The Searchers\’ Screening

Monument Valley never looked as breathtakingly beautiful as it does in this exquisite, multi-layered Western, perhaps the most accomplished film in John Ford’s oeuvre. Wayne gives the performance of his career as the obsessed, enigmatic Ethan, while young Natalie Wood is indelible in a brief role as Debbie, the kidnapped girl caught between two worlds. Ford described his ambitious masterwork as a “psychological epic,” and this gut-twisting, high-lonesome tale certainly grows more nuanced with each viewing.