DVD Review: Vanishing, The (B)

The Vanishing (1988)
(AKA Spoorloos)
Directed by George Sluizer
Starring Gene Bervoets, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu and Johanna Ter Steege
MPAA: Unrated
Grade: B

Review by Scott Standish

Looking for a solid thriller in the tradition of Hitchcock? The original version of the Vanishing (also known as Spoorloos) should do the trick. Its well acted, tightly scripted and has a pretty cool ending.

The Vanishing tells the story of Rex and Saskia, two young lovers traveling through France. They stop at a truckstop for a can of soda and beer. Saskia goes to the washroom, but never comes back. Rex realizes that something terrible has happened, and he spends the next few days, weeks, and even years trying to unravel the story behind her .... well... vanishing. I'd love to tell you more, but I certainly don't want to give away too much of the clever script.

Whatever you do, DO NOT confuse this original French version with the 1993 American remake starring Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland. They are miles apart, even though they were both directed by the talented George Sluizer. The original version has much more elegance to the story, allowing it to slowly unravel - whereas the US version has way too much over the top emotion and simplistic dialogue.

The Vanishing treats its heros and villians with the same amount of respect (a rare feat in movies today). You can understand the thoughts and emotions of its players, and no one is one dimensional. The original version of the Vanishing is a well made thriller, and is highly recommended.

On a side note, Sluizer's next project was to be a thriller entitled Dark Blood. River Phoenix was the lead, but he died as the project just started to get underway. The film was never completed.

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