Spoorloos (1988)

English Title : The Vanishing
Language : Dutch/French/English

This Dutch movie caught my interest after i read a synopsis of the story line. The strong title, the understated movie cover and the topic of pursuit gave me the impression that the movie was going to be very intense, dramatic, scary to some extent and very distressful.
And this movie turned out to be everything but what i had imagined.

The movie starts out with a young couple, Rex and Saskia, heading for a vacation. The trivial games they play on the road trip, the golden egg dream, the unforeseen mishaps builds the pace of the movie, which is pragmatic and tangible. As they stop at a gas station and do the mundane things we all do, you start to identify with the characters. The nervousness of Rex, his attempt to find Saskia at the gas station makes you wonder what you would have done if someone you know disappears. Going Parallel, the movie depicts the character Raymond, who abducts Saskia. As you look closely into the life of Raymond, you understand him, and yet you don’t understand him. Even though you know that he abducted an innocent woman, you don’t get angry at him. Maybe because, he is so genuine about what he does or maybe because he acts like a little boy who wants to suffice his curiosity.

Three years fly away and people move on with their lives. Rex, though pursuing his life, is left with lot of unanswered questions. He is desperate to know what had happened to Saskia and how she vanished. He is not hopeful about her life. But his despair leads him to go behind the abductor who contacts him, to plea to know the truth. On the other hand, the self understanding of Raymond concerns you at many level as you painfully understand that he has no remorse.

This movie is simply about the ones who are left behind, dealing with life, waking up every day with the question that you might never find answer to.
But at what cost will you seek the answer?

I for one, just cannot put myself into those uncomfortable shoes of Rex. To imagine that someone you know just drops of the planet. The nightmares, the despair... everything is so real and hence tragic. Unfortunately, this movie might disappoint someone who is expecting a thriller on top speed.

I personally loved the perspective the movie had to offer. It was fresh, new and real. It didn't take help of the drama we all expect in a movie like this. Ironically, it lingers more in your mind that any drama will ever do.

I do not, at this stage, possess the knowledge to handle a technical review of this movie.

Keep watching this space, for more life, love and cinema.