Vanishing

Year: 1988

Grade: B+

Country: Netherlands

Director: Sluizer

Review

(1988) – i saw the remake when it came out in the theater (1993) and thought it was pretty decent, but not great. i hadn’t even heard about the original until last year. as is the usual, the original is better. i think the film succeeded in several different instances…in a short time we see the boyfriend and girlfriend at their best and worst – we see them fight and make up and that brings us into the relationship in a very real way. this success led to another – when the girlfriend disappears we are frightened and sad, just as the boyfriend is. the film also juggled time rather well. it was filmed in 88 and uses radio broadcasts of the 1984 tour de france as a time stamp (it’s a netherlands production, but filmed in france). different stages of the tour indicate different times relative to the kidnapping time, which occurs during the last stage of the race. when we move back to the present (1988) we are tipped off by a missing person sign that reads “saskia (the girlfriend) went missing three years ago. if you’ve seen her please contact…” the last major success of the film is bringing the kidnapper into the film. i like plot moves like this because i love a healthy dose of perspective. to simply leave the kidnapper out of the picture, or only include him in scenes “dancing around in his grandma’s panties, rubbing himself in peanut butter” (as pitt’s character in se7en puts it) would be “dismissive” (as morgan freeman points out) and a disservice to truth. the truth is that not all madmen are as mad or insane as we’d like to believe, or hope. the kidnapper in the vanishing is a very thoughtful and otherwise pleasant person. like the protagonist in mike leigh’s “naked,” he is the kind of man who is truly horrifying because he is so capable and yet so normal. this guy could be your neighbor or father. in a greater sense the film also speaks to the chaos of things. rififi spoke to the fallibility of even the greatest plans, and this film speaks to the random chance that can destroy a person’s life or make a person’s plans fall perfectly into place. chaos can be both the most beautiful, and the most ugly thing in life, but we have to accept it as it goes both ways. another fine criterion presentation.