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, L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir, Исчезновение
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…
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.
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…
Can't wait for the day to come where I finally show my friends and family this uplifting, happy film.
In all seriousness though, that ending is among the best ever.
An important reminder to never trust a man with a Robert Bork-style goatee. Just in case it somehow wasn't already incredibly obvious.
A superbly written hyper realist film with an unconventional narrative structure. I found myself completely captivated by the antagonist's logic.
Really cannot overstate just how much I enjoyed the dialogue in this film. Kudos, George Sluizer.
NO. There is NO WAY anyone can think The Vanishing is a good film. I stopped caring about Rotten Tomatoes years ago, but their consensus review for this film makes me actually laugh out loud. I honestly don’t even know where to begin. The writing is terrible except for a few lines discussing fate. The acting is B movie at best. I think a few friends and I could do better with a camera and some liquid courage. The pacing is absolutely horrendous. It is slower than watching paint dry, and I spent the last two days staining a wooden screen room. I would know. The score is nonexistent, and what music is there does nothing to add to the…
Wow, was this a disappointing movie or what? Not only did we not have barely any insight into the murderer's motives, but we barely felt what Rex really felt about pursuing Sakia's killer! It had the potential to be haunting and horrifying, but the only thing that was appalling was that Rex was crazy enough to fall for the murderer's trick. The first 30 minutes was the most promising and then it was drawn out unbearably until the very underwhelming ending. Not sure what others felt was so fantastic about this film, but it was very average in terms of psychological thrillers. (40/100)
2020 Movie #57:
"The Vanishing"
Watched: Criterion Channel
When a man's girlfriend disappears at a truck stop, he obsesses about finding her, until 3 years later when someone comes forward saying they know what happened.
Remade in the 90's by the same director, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Sandra Bullock, and Jeff Bridges, in what I'm told is complete shit. But I might check it out eventually. The thing is, the trailer for that has blatant spoilers in it and obviously shows that director George Sluizer added more to the ending. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I think the greatest thing about this film though, and the most horrifying, is that it tells us almost everything along…
A married couple gets into a fight in their car but make up as they go to a gas station. The wife heads inside to grab a coffee, but never returns. The rest of the film follows parallel narratives, one of the husband looking for his lost wife, and surprisingly, one of the man who kidnapped her.
The way the movie is structured is quite unique, showing the perspective of the perpetrator. He's a family man, with a seemingly happy life, but ultimately seeking a thrill his normal life can't provide. This is a simple low key thriller, but effective, with a few moments that really stick with you. That cut when it suddenly says "three years later" made my stomach drop. Three and a half stars.
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