MovieChat Forums > Missing (1982) Discussion > Spoiler....

Spoiler....

posted 14 years ago by Kd5000
5 replies | jump to latest

Was a direct reason ever given why they killed Charles 'Charlie' Horman? I just watched the film and I gathered that he knew too much about US involvement with the coup and the Chilean military was given the go-ahead to execute him. He was also keeping a diary of events that he had witnessed. Was this also a factor?

My other theory was he just got caught up in the chaos and they were killing people left and right with no hesitation. You spoke to the wrong person and you were dead. You kept a diary and you were dead. In other words, things got out of control very rapidly!

This was an excellent film and great performances. I read the book THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS (skip the film adaptation) and it gives a more Chilean angle on the coup. In the book, like the film, Chile is never mentioned by name.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] El_Jeffro 12 years ago

It's not that he just knew about it, but the Powers-that-be were afraid of what he was going to do with the knowledge. Charles was implicated as being a radical because of his work for the Leftist paper. The US (CIA and State Dept) and the new Chilean regime thought all he knew and all those notes he kept were going to be used against them somehow. Which is funny, because others knew what Charles knew, especially the reporter, Kate Newman, and she was left alone. So was Terry Simon--pretty much--and she was with him the whole time in Viña del Mar during the coup. So it's strange how they saw him as such a particular threat enough so that he was allowed to be executed, whereas almost all of the other Americans were released or left alone, and eventually allowed to leave Chile.

[–] movies789 10 years ago

"El_Jeffro replied Sep 7, 2012
It's not that he just knew about it, but the Powers-that-be were afraid of what he was going to do with the knowledge. Charles was implicated as being a radical because of his work for the Leftist paper. The US (CIA and State Dept) and the new Chilean regime thought all he knew and all those notes he kept were going to be used against them somehow. Which is funny, because others knew what Charles knew, especially the reporter, Kate Newman, and she was left alone. So was Terry Simon--pretty much--and she was with him the whole time in Viña del Mar during the coup. So it's strange how they saw him as such a particular threat enough so that he was allowed to be executed, whereas almost all of the other Americans were released or left alone, and eventually allowed to leave Chile."

All of which kind of blows the lefty conspiracy theories about Charles' being executed right out of the water.

[–] sionxxii 9 years ago

The SEE EYE AAAYYY admits they killed him.

[–] movies789 9 years ago

"sionxxii replied 9m ago: "The SEE EYE AAAYYY admits they killed him."

Oh? Where? (Specifically? A link to a first-person quote?) Waiting patiently...