The Missing (2003)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
A father and daughter must team up to rescue their kidnapped children from a band of renegade Apache raiders.
The story
In late 19th-century New Mexico, Samuel Jones arrives at the house of his daughter Magdalena "Maggie" Gilkeson, hoping to reconcile with her after abandoning her and her mother decades before. She is unable to forgive him, feeling he caused her mother's early death, turning him away the next morning. Renegade Apache Pesh-Chidin, alias El Brujo and followers raid the area, killing settlers and taking women and girls to sell into sex slavery in Mexico. Among those abducted is Maggie's first daughter, Lilly. Maggie secures her father's release from jail, and the two decide to go after the abducted girls, taking her younger daughter Dot with them.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In late 19th-century New Mexico, Samuel Jones arrives at the house of his daughter Magdalena "Maggie" Gilkeson, hoping to reconcile with her after abandoning her and her mother decades before. She is unable to forgive him, turning him away. Renegade Apache Pesh-Chidin, alias El Brujo, raids the area, killing settlers and kidnapping women and girls, including Maggie's daughter Lilly. Maggie secures her father's release from jail, and they decide to rescue the girls, taking her younger daughter Dot with them. They encounter U.S. Cavalry soldiers who suspect Jones of leading the raiders, but the lieutenant refuses to help as he must lead a forced relocation of Native Americans. After a failed ambush, they are joined by Kayitah, a Chiricahua friend of Jones, and his son Honesco, who is also seeking his fiancée. Together, they free the captives, but Lilly alerts the bandits, leading to Kayitah's death. The survivors flee to the mountains, pursued by Mexican slave traders and the kidnappers. Jones leads them to a bluff with a strong defensive position. During a standoff, Jones explains his past to Maggie, but she remains unforgiving. The group fights off an attack; Jones lights bushes on fire to slow the enemies. El Brujo injures Honesco and ambushes Maggie. Jones confronts El Brujo in revenge for his granddaughter. Jones and El Brujo fall to their deaths during the struggle. Maggie shoots the remaining kidnappers and returns home with her father's body, her daughters, Honesco, and the other girls.
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 137
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English; Spanish; Apache
- Directors
- Ron Howard
- Writers
- Ken Kaufman · writer
- Cast and characters
- Tommy Lee Jones; Cate Blanchett; Evan Rachel Wood; Jenna Boyd; Eric Schweig; Aaron Eckhart
- Genres
- Western; adventure; thriller; drama
- Themes
- Family reconciliation; Redemption; Survival; Sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- Serious; Authentic; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Child Abduction; Historical Drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- Thomas Eidson's 1995 novel The Last Ride
- Content notes
- Death
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, though it was well received among Native American populations for its authentic use of the Apache dialect.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 58% · review count: 174; Metacritic · score: 55 · scale: 100 · review count: 40; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film features authentic use of the Apache language, with some actors spending long hours studying it.; Tommy Lee Jones, Jay Tavare, Simon R. Baker, and others learned to speak some dialogue in the Chiricahua dialect of Apache.; Native American students reported that the film stimulated pride because of its authenticity.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…