From: barrett@snoopy.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Subject: REVIEW: THE VANISHING
Reply-To: barrett@snoopy.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 14:36:54 GMT
Followup-To: rec.arts.movies
Summary: r.a.m.r. #01560
Keywords: author=Barrett

				  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!