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"Harrison's Flowers" is writer/director/producer Elie Chouraqui's vision of perfect love put to the ultimate test. The film's tagline - "True love doesn't hesitate" - captures the essence of this romantic drama.

Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah Lloyd, devoted wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). When Harrison goes missing and is presumed dead during an assignment in a far away country, Sarah embarks on a perilous journey to find Harrison and bring him home.

Chouraqui needed an actress who was bold and courageous to portray Sarah, a character who evolves throughout the film and tackles incredible odds. The director knew he found the perfect Sarah in award-winning actress, Andie MacDowell. "She was perfect for this role because this is not something I think audiences would expect to see her do and that is important. It is important because they haven't seen her do it so it makes Sarah's evolution even more believable. Sarah is strong in a quiet way. She is complicated. She has two children. And she has inner strength to her that you see becomes more and more developed. She must choose all the time, beginning to end," says Chouraqui.

Chouraqui explained that he was pleased with the casting of MacDowell because she is exactly the kind of woman he loves. "She's a little crazy because she will never stop for what she believes in. She will never stop for love. I don't like women or men who will just listen and do what they are told to do. I like them to have the courage of their convictions. They believe in what they know to be right and nothing and no one can stop them from doing what they believe they should do. They live by their instincts," added Chouraqui.

In the film, Sarah's crazed devotion to her husband proves too much for her husband's colleagues to resist. Rather than being convinced to stop, Sarah convinces one of Harrison's fellow photojournalists, Kyle (Adrien Brody) and Harrison's best friend Yeager (Elias Koteas) to forge ahead with the search.

In helping Sarah to find the truth about her missing husband, Kyle comes to the rescue of many others, but ultimately he rescues himself. Kyle's work has left him embittered; the tragedies he has witnessed have left him dead inside. Sarah's refusal to give up on love resurrects hope in Kyle, and gives him a renewed reason for living.

Adrien Brody describes Kyle as "a very intense guy, who is funny, and brave. Sarah gives him this focus in the midst of all this terrible chaos. Her love becomes this powerful force that motivates all of them to overcome the most unbelievable obstacles. I think they were all a little bit in love with her because of that."

"I have felt love like that, that Sarah had for Harrison and it is very intense. Unfortunately, mine didn't last but that's another story," Brody muses. "I think what this is saying about love is that you may not ever experience this yourself but when you see it, witness it, a love like that can be appreciated on all levels," says Brody.

David Strathairn's interest in the role and the film stemmed from the love story set against a political backdrop. "Harrison was this guy who really lived his passions for life, through his love for her (Sarah) and his work. As a photojournalist covering the war you're the first and last word sometimes and that is a pretty powerful place to be. There's this hero worship element to it."

Photojournalist Isabel Ellsen co-wrote the script, with the film's characters and their experiences adapted, in part, from her book. Chouraqui says the characters and the love story may be fiction but the civil war in Croatia was based on truth. Asked what he hopes audiences will take away from "Harrison's Flowers," Chouraqui says, "You know when you make a movie like this, where it does involve a real place and a real experience like this war, you have a duty to make sure you respect the truth of the terrible experience people really did live through. I think, I hope this movie does that. For audiences, I hope they become enlightened to that but also to know that true love is worth fighting for...that you don't give up."

"Harrison's Flowers" is rated R for strong war violence and gruesome images, pervasive language and brief drug use. "Harrison's Flowers" debuts in theatres on Friday, March 15, 2002.

SOURCE: Universal Pictures and Universal Focus