1988 ‘Spoorloos’ Directed by George Sluizer
Rex and Saskia are enjoying a biking holiday in France when, stopping at a gas station, Saskia disappears. Confounded, Rex searches everywhere, but to no avail. Three years later, he's still obsessed with finding her, pleading his case on television, putting up posters and ruining his new relationship in the process. Eventually an unassuming chemistry teacher, Raymond, approaches Rex, intimating that he knows what happened.
The Vanishing - Spurlos verschwunden, L'homme qui voulait savoir, Исчезновение, L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir
When I was fifteen my teacher who taught Dutch made us read Tim Krabbé's 'Het Gouden Ei'. After reading it and discussing it in class we watched Spoorloos, based on said novel. I remember being a bit bored by the novel and thought the film was ok.
Many moons later I re-read the book and recognized it for the sucker punch that it is. (if you loved this film I urge you to read the novel, there are many excellent translations out there and it is well worth the read). A while back I hit a bit of a lull in my movie watching. Wanting to pick it up again I decided to rewatch this. Now, memory is a funny…
if you’re looking for something light, breezy and fun boy have i got a recommendation for you.
With an ingenious plot structure and a black heart that seems to revel in breaking the audience's own, The Vanishing is a bleak thriller that might not have the technical bravado of Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now, but feels very similar in effect. A devastating loss, a study of grief and obsession, and an ending that is simply cruel, but feels just right. Adapted from Tim Krabbé's novella, The Golden Egg, it's a great example of the benefit of keeping the author on to co-write the screenplay. The pacing and structure work together to keep the plot barreling ahead (something other psych-thrillers occasionally stumble on by concerning too much runtime to developing the mood explicitly instead of letting the story…
The Vanishing is one of the most detailed and terrifying murder mysteries I've seen. Told from two intertwining perspectives regarding the disappearance of a female tourist in France, it feels like two hemispheres that fit perfectly together, thus leaving no air for the audience to breathe. The heavy suspense and a sinister atmosphere are prominent throughout, relived by occasional scenes of effective hilarity. The cat-and-mouse game builds organically for an ending where all shocking secrets are revealed. What's most impressive about this movie are the outstanding performances, especially from Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, whose deceivingly harmless charisma contrasts greatly with the evil things he's capable of doing. Director George Sluizer's decision to elaborate on the perpetrator's personal life actually pays off, enabling…
Dutch brilliance. What one man is willing to do to uncover the truth of a missing loved one. What one man did that will send shivers up your spine. Thrilling. Edgy. Creepy. No Hollywood ending, but pure satisfaction after viewing.
"I hope you'll eventually learn something."
Having already filmed one adaption of a Tim Krabbé novel (Red Desert Penitentiary), the Parisian-born Dutch filmmaker George Sluizer served as an informal advisor regarding the French elements of Krabbé's latest novel The Golden Egg, concerning a woman's mystifying disappearance and its yearslong psychological repercussions on her distraught partner. Sluizer quickly developed an interest in the story and purchased the film rights, after which he consented to Krabbé's request to adapt his own novel for the screen. When Sluizer found the initial draft undistinguished ("not bad, but not good") the two began collaborating on the screenplay, but unnavigable creative differences ultimately led Sluizer to dismiss Krabbé and complete the adaptation alone.
The Vanishing (Spoorloos) is…
If not for its stupid fucking 80s score, this would be a pretty perfect thriller.
Also makes for some pretty damning social commentary on our sick fascination with psychopaths and killers. Rex could almost be a direct stand-in for our obsessive need to know every last detail of how a crime transpired.
It’s quite depressing how little that message has aged in the era of mass media and mass shootings.
She looks beautiful in the sunlight. It's the type of moment that you take for granted because you assume the world owes you thousands more just like it. You never believe it could be the last until it is, and even then you probably won't believe it. You refuse to believe it. You look at her there, basking in the glow of a world so seemingly perfect and on face value it's just another day. She looks beautiful in the sunlight, and it will shine tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.
Only the sun suddenly stops shining. The world seems so dark. You look for her there, anywhere, everywhere but you see nothing. It was just…
SHOCKtober Day 24 of 31
George Sluizer’s 1988 Dutch mystery thriller, The Vanishing, unspools a tangled narrative of obsession born out of insatiable curiosity. A claustrophobic French chemist with no perceivable conscience conducts an elaborate experiment to test his daughter’s theory that he is a “hero”. In doing so, he alters the lives of a Dutch couple vacationing in France—when Rex’s girlfriend goes missing at a busy gas station, he invests countless funds in a yearslong public campaign to learn what befell her.
Gene Bervoets plays Rex Hofman, the tortured bereaved who blindly launches an indefatigable search for answers about the disappearance of his partner, Saskia (Johanna ter Steege in a memorably endearing debut). His foil and his remedy are…
75/100
A.V. Club review. If I'm totally honest with myself, I have to admit that this film drags quite a bit in the middle; in my memory, it's just the drive, the tunnel, the disappearance, the rehearsal, and then the final Faustian bargain, which collectively is maybe half the total running time. If I'm even more honest with myself, though, I have to admit that I don't much care.
Calculated, stomach-churning suspense. It takes a lot to scare me, but that god damn ending is truly terrifying. In retrospect, that final scene is actually scarier than most horror movies as a whole. This is one thriller that absolutely earns its reputation. Wow. Just wow.
The frightening thing about this film is how it so readily reveals the evil character pulling the strings. His relationship to his family, his childhood, his identity all become clear to us. And it is disturbing precisely because of how normal he is. This is probably one of the most disturbing films I’ve seen, and it relies on fewer explicitly “shocking” moments compared to other films of that ilk. You know, films like Funny Games and Salo
I can see traces of this film in Michael Haneke’s Hidden. There are moments in this film in which the audience really doesn’t know what will happen next, especially the final, absolutely horrifying sequence.
The structure of this threw me off and took me out until I realized what was really happening and it was awesome. Not sure my experience with the second half of the film can be recreated on a rewatch but my engagement in the first half will definitely grow. This was great!
The performances were really well done, it was incredibly unique, and had a climax that was honestly heart-stopping and somewhat unfathomable in the moment. My only issue with the film would have to be that I thought some of the music was a little out of place and overused, as many of its more effective sequences didn’t need it to succeed. Great stuff tho, can’t wait to revisit it!
Had to pause numerous times just to catch a breath. This was harrowing to the nth degree. Immediately thought of Orpheus & Eurydice when it ended. Was really rooting for Rex before he caved in and turned around.
What The Vanishing intrigued me so much was the portrayal of the sociopath. To think that a typical family man with a normal job, a normal family and a normal external demeanour is capable of co-existing with a rotten version of himself within sent chills down my spine.
Newest review on the blog: filmista.cc/post/654796290138488833
One of the most masterfully constructed and genuinely creepy suspense/horror movies I’ve ever seen.
I’d read the novella it’s based on: "The Golden Egg", loved it and had wanted to watch the film since for ever but was never able to find it any stores or catch it streaming anywhere. Finally just ordered it online. It did not disappoint in the slightest.
Watched this in late 80’s/early 90’s. It has stuck with me as just a gut wrenching film.
A lot of people liked this one a lot more than I did. Yes, there's shock value in the ending, but otherwise this just doesn't hold a lot of interest. The premise is more interesting than the actual movie.
Criterion Challenge 2021 Film #4: A horror movie.
I will never not be blinded with rage that I accidentally spoiled the ending for myself while mindlessly scrolling through here months back. My rating would probably be even higher if I successfully went into this blind.
It is IMPERATIVE that you watch this without knowing where it’s going. I knew what everything was building to so I was able to prepare myself for what was to come. If I experienced the ending of this movie fresh I would probably be ranking this among the scariest movies I’ve ever seen.
DO NOT LOOK UP ANYTHING ABOUT IT. DO WHAT I COULDN’T AND EXPERIENCE THIS SHIT FIRST HAND.
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