The Vanishing (1988 film)
| The Vanishing | |
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Original Dutch film poster
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| Directed by | George Sluizer |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Based on |
The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Hennie Vrienten |
| Cinematography | Toni Kuhn |
| Edited by |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Argos Films |
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Release date
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Running time
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107 minutes |
| Country | Netherlands France |
| Language | Dutch, French |
The Vanishing (Dutch: Spoorloos, literally "Traceless" or "Without a Trace") is a Dutch-French thriller film released on 27 October 1988, directed by George Sluizer. It was adapted from the novella The Golden Egg (1984) by Tim Krabbé. The film stars Gene Bervoets as a man who searches obsessively for his girlfriend following her disappearance at a rest area. In France the film was released under the title L'homme qui voulait savoir (The Man Who Wanted to Know).
The Vanishing received critical acclaim. Sluizer later remade the film in English in 1993, but the remake was poorly received.
A Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, are on holiday in France. As they drive, Saskia shares a recurring dream in which she is drifting through space in a golden egg. In the most recent dream, another egg containing another person appeared; she feels the collision of the two eggs would signify the end of something.
Their car runs out of petrol and they stop at a rest area, where a man in another car dons a false sling and orthopedic cast. Rex promises to never abandon Saskia and they bury two coins at the base of a tree as a symbol of their romance. Saskia enters the petrol station to buy drinks and does not return. Rex frantically searches for her.
Some time earlier, Raymond, a wealthy family man, secretly plots to abduct a woman. He buys an isolated house, experiments with chloroform, and rehearses scenarios in which he entices women into his car. When his initial attempts at abduction fail, he poses as an injured motorist in need of assistance and goes to the rest area out of town where he will not be recognised.
Three years after Saskia's disappearance, Rex is still searching for her. He has received several postcards inviting him to meet the kidnapper at a cafe in Nimes, but the kidnapper never comes. Unknown to Rex, the cafe is directly opposite Raymond's apartment, where he watches Rex wait. Rex's new girlfriend, Lieneke, reluctantly helps him search for Saskia. One day, Rex has a dream similar to Saskia's in which he is trapped in a golden egg. Unable to endure his obsession, Lieneke leaves him.
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