THE VANISHING
A film review by Daniel Barrett
Copyright 1992 Daniel Barrett
THE VANISHING (1991) Starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, and Johanna Ter Steege. Directed by George Sluizer. In French and Dutch with (very readable) subtitles. Distributed on Fox Lorber Home Video.
The videocassette cover of THE VANISHING proudly announces that the movie has won "10 leading international awards" and calls it "the first genuine sleeper of 1991," claiming that the "terrifying conclusion... will haunt you long after the movie ends." I agree wholeheartedly -- this is an extraordinary suspense film with a truly terrifying ending. This review contains *no* spoilers, so you may read it freely.
The premise is simple: Rex, a young man, is baffled when one day his wife Saskia mysteriously disappears. He devotes his life to solving the mystery of what happened to her. Does he find out? Will WE find out? These questions form the basis for the suspense that fills this movie.
And THE VANISHING is a true suspense movie. There is no blood, no gore, and almost no violence (a few punches). The suspense builds VERY subtly; we hardly notice it for the first hour. At that point, Rex is asked to embark on a mysterious journey, and the tension quickly mounts. The final 10 minutes are simply riveting and (to me) very surprising. I will indeed remember the conclusion "long after the movie ends."
THE VANISHING deals with several fundamental questions about human nature. The first question is "What is the nature of innocence?", or more naively, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" What did Rex do, if anything, to deserve this trouble? Was Saskia at all to blame for her disappearance? The film may not necessarily answer these questions, but the viewer will certainly confront them.
The second question is "What are the limits of human decency?", or, "How evil can a person be, yet still remain human?" This is a difficult question to address in a movie that has no blood, gore, nor violence, yet it is handled masterfully. Hidden in this issue is the third important question: "Could *I* have committed such an evil act?"
The fourth question, the one which I found most disturbing, involves a choice that Rex must make: the choice between knowledge or ignorance of what happened to Saskia. Both choices are clearly "the wrong one" to make, and yet he must choose. So the chilling fourth question is what we ask ourselves both before *and* after the event: "If I had been Rex, which would I have chosen?" And after answering it, one can also ask "Am I being honest with myself?"
THE VANISHING has several parallels to one of my favorite suspense films, THE HITCHER. (If you didn't like THE HITCHER, don't let that prevent you from seeing THE VANISHING -- they are very different movies in many respects.) Both films feature an "innocent" protagonist who is thrust into a strange situation and forced to make paradoxical, yet irrevocable choices between equally bad (or unknown) outcomes. There is perhaps nothing more terrifying than making a conscious choice, regretting it, and knowing that the choice can never be undone. But where THE HITCHER is a story of corruption of innocence, THE VANISHING asks "What *is* innocence?"
I should note that the first 15 minutes of the movie are the least interesting -- the acting seems forced, and the plot is slow and almost amateurish. Do not worry; the film improves rapidly after this, and the acting is quite excellent. Although the viewer is never required to like Rex and Saskia personally, nor any of the other characters who appear, all relevant personalities are firmly established. I purposely have not described any other characters because their mysterious actions add greatly to the suspense.
I recommend THE VANISHING very highly to anyone who likes intelligent suspense movies. But BE WARNED: some parts are truly horrifying in a manner I have rarely seen on film. It may well give you nightmares. I haven't been able to stop thinking it about for the past 24 hours.
Dan
barrett@cs.umass.edu
P.S.: I would enjoy corresponding with other people who have seen this
movie. Please write and tell me your thoughts!
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