Spoorloos (1988)
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A man's obsessive search for his missing girlfriend leads him into a chilling confrontation with her kidnapper.
The story
A young Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, are on holiday in France. While stopped at a rest area, Saskia enters a petrol station to buy drinks and never returns. Rex begins a frantic search for her, and the story follows his obsessive, years-long quest to find her. The narrative explores the psychological toll of his search as he becomes consumed by the mystery of her disappearance in the French countryside.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
A young Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, are on holiday in France. While stopped at a rest area, Saskia enters a petrol station and disappears. Rex begins a desperate search that lasts three years. Meanwhile, a man named Raymond, who has planned a kidnapping for some time, is revealed as the culprit. After years of searching, Rex receives a lead and meets Raymond. Raymond admits to the kidnapping and takes Rex to the original rest area. He tells Rex that the only way to know what happened to Saskia is to experience it himself. Rex is drugged and buried alive in a box underground. The film ends with Raymond at his home with his family, while a newspaper reports the double disappearance of both Saskia and Rex.
- Original title
- The Vanishing
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- Netherlands; France
- Original languages
- Dutch
- Directors
- George Sluizer
- Writers
- George Sluizer · screenplay; Tim Krabbé · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu · Raymond Lemorne; Gene Bervoets · Rex; Johanna ter Steege · Saskia Wagter
- Themes
- obsession; psychopathy; fear
- Tone and mood
- tense; suspenseful; eerie
- Premise and plot tags
- kidnapping; missing persons; mystery
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Golden Egg (1984) by Tim Krabbé
- Reception
- The film received international praise, particularly for its tension, performances, and avoidance of clichés. It was noted for its unique structure and was selected as the Dutch submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
- Awards and nominations
- Best Foreign Film of the Year · National Board of Review · Win; Best Supporting Actress · European Film Award · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was disqualified from the Academy Awards for having too much French dialogue.; The film was adapted for radio in 2010.
Genres
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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