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.
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…
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…
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.
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.
if you’re looking for something light, breezy and fun boy have i got a recommendation for you.
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…
In my mind, the best use of non-linear storytelling there is, and still manages to come neatly full circle.
The most romantic portrayal of nihilism, the most nihilistic portrayal of romance. This movie will drain you, because it assures you that sooner or later, your dreams will come true, and it's the last thing you'll ever want to happen.
The weird thing about this movie is that it’s fairly predictable, but incredibly tense anyway. Rather than wondering what characters will do next, all you can do is chew your nails (or hair, in my case) and watch helplessly as the characters do just what you hoped they wouldn’t. And yeah, that ending is still chilling. Moreso now, maybe, given our society’s collective obsessiveness.
The Vanishing is a gripping, well-made mystery thriller. Creative, nonlinear, and consistently chilling, this film is likely to stick with you long after its dated end credits score concludes. Full review on DVDizzy.
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