The Vanishing - Criterion Collection

Starring:Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus, Bernadette Le SachÃ©, Tania Latarjet, Lucille Glenn, Roger Souza, Caroline AppÃ©rÃ©, Pierre Forget, Didier Rousset, Raphaeline, Robert Lucibello, David Bayle, Doumee, Eric Jacquet, Aziz Djahnit, Linda Wise, Ian Magilton, Mieke De Groote
Director: George Sluizer
Studio: Criterion
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

When a young Dutchman discovers that his girlfriend has gone missing during their return to Holland from a bicycling trip in France, he begins a three-year search that forms the basis of this unsettling psychological thriller from 1988, originally titled Spoorloos. The missing woman's whereabouts remain a mystery, but the film provides an early introduction to her abductor, a seemingly normal family man whose domestic tranquility hides a meticulous, methodical madness. As the despondent husband advertises all over France and Holland for his missing wife, this game of cat-and-mouse escalates into a strategy of psychological horror, revealing certain facts and merely suggesting others to create an intense atmosphere of dread and anticipation. A film that Alfred Hitchcock would certainly have admired, The Vanishing leads to an unforgettable conclusion that's sure to send chills down your spine. Ironically, this film's director, George Sluizer, also made the inferior 1993 American remake starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jeff Bridges. --Jeff Shannon

Description

A young man begins an obsessive search for his girlfriend after she mysteriously disappears during their sunny vacation getaway. His three-year investigation draws the attention of her abductor, a seemingly mild-mannered professor who, in truth, harbors a diabolically clinical and calculating mind. When the kidnapper contacts the man and promises to reveal his lover's fate, The Vanishing unfolds with intense precision, culminating in a genuinely chilling finale that has unnerved audiences around the world.

Customer Reviews:

so haunting.......2007-06-26

I saw this on t.v in london 15yrs back and its stayed with me as the creepiest movie i've ever seen.It's more psychological than in your face and the ending is extemely disquieting.Surely backs up the claim that some pychopaths are some of the most innocuous people you could ever meet.Until it's too late.So terrifying to witness just how easy abduction can be.You'd stay 5 feet back from any car window next time a driver asks you for directions after watching this one...totally believable and disturbing-it's a must see.

Realistic and very sinister.......2007-03-31

This is the type of suspense/mysteries I love. A very subtle, psychological horror. Nothing over the top, no crappy acting with corny dialogue, no absurd ending that ruins the whole film.
Here's the basic plot--a couple takes a road trip, a little lovers getaway. Driving through a tunnel, they end up running out of gas. That's a very frightnenig situation by itself, with the oncoming traffic barreling by.
The young man, Rex, makes a drastic decision--he leaves his girlfriend Saskia behind to walk to the gas station. The tension escalates as her fears of isolation begin to manifest.
All this subsides when Rex returns, as the couple apparently reconcile and then head to the gas station to fill up the tank.
But at this convenience station, the ultimate conceivable horror occurs. Saskia disappears. Vanishes without a trace.
Rex searched desperately for her, to no avail. He's left pondering the incident. Was it a kidnapping? Did she ditch him because of the earlier spat?
This lack of closure pushes Rex to the brink of madness. Then three years later, the evil abductor mails Rex a postcard. Whoa...

The idea for this movie generated from an urban legend in Paris. Kidnappings have been done in other movies, but what sets The Vanishing apart is there is no quick decision developed and a villan soon exposed. That pushes the terror to new depths.
There is an American version of this film, starring Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock, and Kiefer Sutherland. It's gripping too, but the French one has a much better ending. Hollywood chickened out and totally changed it. I also like how the French film has a unrevealing DVD cover, just a dark picture of the convience store. That might support the element of mystery. The American one depicts the couple and the villain. Anyways, if you read any reviews on this movie you already know a bad guy is involved.
Regardless, this is one of the most intense mysteries you'll ever watch. The Criterion Collection would be the first one to get.

They Wondered what was Wrong with Us.......2007-02-07

I had no expectations going into the Biograph Theater in Georgetown DC in 1989. The film was advertised as a mystery thriller.
The buildup was chilling, but on a low level, so I didn't realize how tense I was getting.
When the credits started rolling at the end of the movie, the house emptied out before the lights came up. As the audience ran out of the theater the people waiting in the lobby stared at us. We paused on the sidewalk gasping for air and then quickly walked away.

A Superb Film.......2007-01-31

"The Vanishing" has always garnered a lot of attention because of its ending. The film has no violence, but people frequently proclaim how haunting and/or disturbing the ending is. Having said that, I don't want to build it up too much. The fact that I was expecting an ending like that made the ending less great for me. It's a great ending, but don't be expecting something in the league of "The Sixth Sense" all right? The movie, directed by George Sluizer, begins with a Danish couple named Rex and Saskia on a road trip. They have a small, insignificant spat and end up at a gas station. The film slowly builds their relationship, how close they are and it helps the film along in the fact that the relationship seems very real. Saskia leaves Rex by the car to get a coffee and some beer, but never returns. She just vanishes. The only thing Rex has to go on is a Polaroid where you can see her hair and what appears to be a man standing next to her. The movie's plot doesn't unfold in a typical, straightforward fashion. After the "vanishing" scenes, we meet her kidnapper Raymond. The movie doesn't present him as a kidnapper (we know he is of course); he merely appears with his family. He's a professor, a man with a round face that looks like he could be both trustworthy and dangerous. We watch him as he plots a random kidnapping and even tries it a few times, with no success. When the story returns to focus on Rex, we learn he is still looking for Saskia three years later. Raymond has set up meetings, via letters, with Rex several times but has always failed to appear. Rex is already in another relationship, but she is unhappy with his "obsession" with finding Saskia, a woman Rex has already accepted as being dead. The movies turning point comes when Rex and Raymond finally meet, with Raymond promising Rex he will learn everything about what happened to Saskia. We, as the audience, know that Saskia has to be dead. We make this decision early on in the movie, but the brilliance of the film lies in the fact that it causes us to second guess ourselves. We think she's dead, but we don't know how she died. Did she die? Even though we see a lot of the film from the killers' perspective, we don't know what happened to Saskia until Rex finds out. Now I return to the ending. It is good, well shot and haunting. But to say an ending is good, even great, is fine. But for me to build up the ending by raving about how great it is would ruin it for you. I might as well tell you what happens. The Criterion Collection has done a superb job with the DVD, although one would wish for more bonus features. The only thing we get is a trailer for the film. The acting and script of the film is great. The man who plays Raymond plays the character perfectly, not going over-the-top or downplaying it. As for the characters, they all react as normal people would. Rex's obsession seems like too much at times, but we realize how horrible it would be for that to happen and have no idea what happened. In a few words; A superb thriller.

GRADE: A-

A little disappointed.......2007-01-12

A little about my mind-set. I try not to be too much in the foreign film camp (that views all American movies as too formulaic, sappy, and polished...though many are), nor in the American movie camp (that views foreign films as weird or amateurish...though many are). I'm no film scholar either. I had seen the American version first, and felt it was a decent psychological thriller. When I read some reviews about the original, I have to admit, I really wanted to see it and had some high expectations. I simply was not that impressed by this movie or its ending.
It was just an okay movie for me. Hope this helps

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