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The Vanishing
(1988)
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Title: The Vanishing (1988)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu | ... | |
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Gene Bervoets | ... | |
| Johanna ter Steege | ... | ||
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Gwen Eckhaus | ... | |
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Bernadette Le Saché | ... | |
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Tania Latarjet | ... | |
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Lucille Glenn | ... |
Gabrielle
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Roger Souza | ... |
Manager
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Caroline Appéré | ... |
Cashier
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Pierre Forget | ... | |
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Didier Rousset | ... | |
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Raphaëline Goupilleau | ... |
Gisele Marzin
(as Raphaëline)
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Robert Lucibello | ... |
Teacher
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David Bayle | ... |
Lemorne (16 Years)
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Doumee | ... |
Lady 'Prisunic'
(as Doumée)
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Rex and Saskia are on holiday, a young couple in love. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia disappears. Rex dedicates the next three years trying to find her. Then he receives some postcards from her abductor, who promises to reveal what has happened to Saskia. The abductor, Raymond Lemorne, is a chilling character to whom Rex is drawn by his intense desire to learn the truth behind his lovers disappearance. The truth is more sinister than he dared imagine. Written by Matthew Stanfield <mattst@cogs.susx.ac.uk>
Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
27 October 1988 (Netherlands) See more »Also Known As:
The Vanishing See more »Company Credits
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company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
ColorAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The film was submitted to the Academy Awards in 1988 as the official Dutch entry for Best Foreign Language Film. However, the AMPAS disqualified it because they determined that there was too much French dialog in the film to warrant it being a Dutch candidate. See more »Goofs
When in the car with his daughter, Raymonde leans over and locks the passenger door, but seconds later the button is no longer pushed down. See more »Quotes
Raymond Lemorne: My daughter was bursting with pride. But I thought that her admiration wasn't worth anything unless I could prove myself absolutely incapable of doing anything evil. And as black cannot exist without white, I logically conceived the most horrible deed that I could envision right at that moment. But I want you to know, for me killing is not the worst thing.See more »
The Vanishing is a movie only those with ice in their veins can ever forget. The direction is absolutely brilliant, from the opening frames until the very end. I felt Saskia's fright when she thought she lost Rex initially, and her description of her dream made me feel chills. When she disappeared, Rex's combination of rage, frustration, anxiety, and grief was torture to watch. A particularly powerful moment was when he slammed the car door shut so hard the window crumbled into pieces.
Watching Rex become consumed in every way by his quest to find Saskia was also extremely difficult to watch, although it was certainly inevitable. I found the professor's description of his actions appalling in many cases, the most notable one being when he fixates on Saskia and we see his POV. Seeing Saskia warmly respond to him was devastating, knowing what would happen. Throughout the film there was an overwhelming sense of doom and isolation, like this was a cruel world where even in the most idyllic settings evil lurked everywhere and attempting to fight it was futile. Rex undergoes one of the most harrowing emotional ordeals of any movie character ever, and when he is at the end of his rope his crucial decision would seem so insane out of context but viewers understand that it really is his only choice. The shock ending, especially the way it was done, almost made me scream, and I will never forget the final shot. The Vanishing could be shown in any film class on direction, as an example of perfection. Material that could have been turned into just a mediocre thriller with would have seemed like a lame twist was turned by George Sluizer into an utterly harrowing filmgoing experience. And that is the right word, because a movie like The Vanishing is not just watched-it is experienced.
I estimate I have seen around 700 movies in my life, and horror is my favorite genre. I have only seen two films that left me so scared that after they ended I couldn't even move. One was Psycho, which I saw 10 years ago when I was only 12. The other one was just this year-The Vanishing.