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The Vanishing (1988 film)
Encyclopedia
The Vanishing is a French/Dutch film adaptation of the novella The Golden Egg
by Tim Krabbé
, released October 27, 1988. Directed by George Sluizer
and starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
, the film is about the disappearance of a young Dutch woman and her lover's obsessive search. In France the film was released under the title L'homme qui voulait savoir (The Man Who Wanted to Know).
On the film's American
release in 1990, The Vanishing received great critical acclaim from film critics. Sluizer later remade the film
for an English
version in 1993, but the remake was poorly received.
couple, Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia Wagter (Johanna ter Steege), are on a cycling holiday in France
. As they are driving, Saskia tells Rex of a recurring dream that she had, in which she is drifting through space in a golden egg. She tells Rex that this time there was someone else in another golden egg, and that if they were to collide, everything would be over. She said that being stuck in the golden egg was terrifying loneliness. Their car runs out of gas and they are stranded inside a tunnel. They quarrel for a while, but make up and eventually get going again.
Later they stop at a gas station, where Saskia goes into the shop for drinks and never returns. Rex waits, getting more worried and nervous by the minute as Saskia does not emerge. He soon starts to question people if they have seen her, but no one has any idea as to where she is. The only clue he has is a blurred photo he took of the surrounding area, in which he can just barely make out her red hair in a group of people next to the gas station entrance.
Rex cannot accept his loss and spends the next three years compulsively looking for her. He has a new girlfriend, Lieneke (Gwen Eckhaus), but she becomes so fed up with Rex's obsession to understand Saskia's ultimate fate that she leaves him. His quest even results in him explaining her story on television, revealing that he had the same dream as Saskia about the golden egg, and this has inspired him to continue searching.
In a series of intermittent flashbacks, Raymond Lemorne (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
), a respectable, middle-class chemistry teacher — and Saskia's kidnapper — appears both alone and with his family, intricately plotting and planning his scheme to kidnap a random woman.
Eventually, Raymond, fascinated by Rex's fanatical compulsion to know what happened to Saskia, confronts Rex and admits to kidnapping her. He explains that he felt the need to test himself, to find out whether he could commit what he considered the ultimate act of evil. Rex's ultimate curiosity concerning Saskia keeps him from killing Raymond, which Raymond is fully aware of. Raymond finally invites Rex to the very same park and gas station where Saskia disappeared, and simply tells Rex that if he drinks a cup of coffee, which he tells Rex is spiked, he will experience what happened to Saskia. Rex eventually drinks the concoction, passes out, and wakes up in a coffin buried under the earth. His own disappearance soon makes the headline of a local newspaper.
and author Tim Krabbé
, whose book The Golden Egg
the film is based on. The film is faithful to the novel changing two factors. The film's plot is more complicated than the novel, including more flashbacks and a change in the film's character focus. The second major difference is that the characters Rex Hofman and Raymond Lemorne spend more time together after meeting up.
The Vanishing was released in the Netherlands on October 27, 1988. It was released to acclaim and the producers George Sluizer
and Anne Lordon received the Golden Calf for the Best Full Length-feature film at the Netherlands Film Festival
in 1988. The Vanishing was the Dutch submission for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988. The film was disqualified because the Academy determined that there was too much French dialog in the film to meet the requirements. AMPAS deemed that the film was unsuitable to represent the Netherlands. The Dutch declined to send another film, leaving them unrepresented for the first time since 1972. The film was released in France
on December 20, 1989 under the title L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir (English: The Man Who Wanted to Know). Johanna ter Steege won a European Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1988.
The Vanishing was praised on international release.
It was released in the United States
in 1991 and made the list of Top Foreign films of 1991 by the National Board of Review. Desson Howe of The Washington Post
praised the film's avoidance of cliches, noting that it is "refreshingly free of manipulative scenes involving running bath water, jagged-edge cutlery and bunnies in the saucepan". Howe also made note of the unusual move of revealing the killer immediately and spending significant time learning about him. Roger Ebert
wrote a similar approval of this in the Chicago Sun Times stating "One of the most intriguing things about "The Vanishing" is the film's unusual structure, which builds suspense even while it seems to be telling us almost everything we want to know." Of the negative remarks, Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress
referred to the film as "Okay, but wildly overrated and predictable." The Vanishing holds a very high critical rating at the film review database Rotten Tomatoes
, with 100% approval rating from critics with an average rating of 8.3/10. Empire
magazine placed the film at number 67 in their list of "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
n copies of the film were released on Laserdisc
by Image Entertainment
on November 3, 1997. It was later released on VHS
by Fox Lorber on November 11, 1997 followed by a DVD
version released on May 13, 1998. The latest version of the film on DVD was released by The Criterion Collection
on September 18, 2001. The Criterion Collection version contains the original French trailer and an essay on the film by film critic Kim Newman
as a supplemental material.
The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg , published as The Vanishing in English-speaking countries, is a psychological thriller novella written by Dutch author Tim Krabbé, first published in 1984...
by Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé is a Dutch journalist and novelist.Krabbé was born in Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in most major periodicals in the Netherlands. He is known to Dutch readers for his novel De Renner , first published in 1978...
, released October 27, 1988. Directed by George Sluizer
George Sluizer
George Sluizer , is a Dutch filmmaker whose credits include features as well as documentary films....
and starring Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu was a French actor.-Biography:Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu studied theater and film at the Sorbonne Paris III and began his career in film at the age of 25 by making appearances with acclaimed directors...
, the film is about the disappearance of a young Dutch woman and her lover's obsessive search. In France the film was released under the title L'homme qui voulait savoir (The Man Who Wanted to Know).
On the film's American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
release in 1990, The Vanishing received great critical acclaim from film critics. Sluizer later remade the film
The Vanishing (1993 film)
The Vanishing is a 1993 thriller starring Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland and Nancy Travis. It is an American remake of a 1988 Franco-Dutch film, also directed by George Sluizer.-Plot:...
for an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version in 1993, but the remake was poorly received.
Plot
A DutchDutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
couple, Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia Wagter (Johanna ter Steege), are on a cycling holiday in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. As they are driving, Saskia tells Rex of a recurring dream that she had, in which she is drifting through space in a golden egg. She tells Rex that this time there was someone else in another golden egg, and that if they were to collide, everything would be over. She said that being stuck in the golden egg was terrifying loneliness. Their car runs out of gas and they are stranded inside a tunnel. They quarrel for a while, but make up and eventually get going again.
Later they stop at a gas station, where Saskia goes into the shop for drinks and never returns. Rex waits, getting more worried and nervous by the minute as Saskia does not emerge. He soon starts to question people if they have seen her, but no one has any idea as to where she is. The only clue he has is a blurred photo he took of the surrounding area, in which he can just barely make out her red hair in a group of people next to the gas station entrance.
Rex cannot accept his loss and spends the next three years compulsively looking for her. He has a new girlfriend, Lieneke (Gwen Eckhaus), but she becomes so fed up with Rex's obsession to understand Saskia's ultimate fate that she leaves him. His quest even results in him explaining her story on television, revealing that he had the same dream as Saskia about the golden egg, and this has inspired him to continue searching.
In a series of intermittent flashbacks, Raymond Lemorne (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu was a French actor.-Biography:Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu studied theater and film at the Sorbonne Paris III and began his career in film at the age of 25 by making appearances with acclaimed directors...
), a respectable, middle-class chemistry teacher — and Saskia's kidnapper — appears both alone and with his family, intricately plotting and planning his scheme to kidnap a random woman.
Eventually, Raymond, fascinated by Rex's fanatical compulsion to know what happened to Saskia, confronts Rex and admits to kidnapping her. He explains that he felt the need to test himself, to find out whether he could commit what he considered the ultimate act of evil. Rex's ultimate curiosity concerning Saskia keeps him from killing Raymond, which Raymond is fully aware of. Raymond finally invites Rex to the very same park and gas station where Saskia disappeared, and simply tells Rex that if he drinks a cup of coffee, which he tells Rex is spiked, he will experience what happened to Saskia. Rex eventually drinks the concoction, passes out, and wakes up in a coffin buried under the earth. His own disappearance soon makes the headline of a local newspaper.
Cast
- Bernard-Pierre DonnadieuBernard-Pierre DonnadieuBernard-Pierre Donnadieu was a French actor.-Biography:Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu studied theater and film at the Sorbonne Paris III and began his career in film at the age of 25 by making appearances with acclaimed directors...
as Raymond Lemorne: a FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
middle-class man, who at a young age realizes that he is a sociopathAntisocial personality disorderAntisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
. To prove to himself that he is capable of "the ultimate evilEvilEvil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
", he attempts to kidnap and murder a young women — and eventually chooses Saskia. - Gene Bervoets as Rex Hofman: a DutchDutch peopleThe Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
traveler on a holiday with his girlfriend Saskia Wagter in France. Three years after Saskia vanishes at a service station, Rex is still searching for her, obsessed with finding out what happened to her. - Johanna ter SteegeJohanna ter SteegeJohanna ter Steege is a Dutch actress.She won the European Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her movie debut in The Vanishing...
as Saskia Wagter: Saskia is the Dutch girlfriend of Rex Hofman who travels with him through France until she goes missing at the service station. - Gwen Eckhaus as Lieneke: Rex's new girlfriend, whom he begins dating three years after Saskia's disappearance.
- Bernadette Le Saché as Simone Lemorne: Raymond's wife. Like the rest of her family, she is completely unaware of Raymond's crime.
- Tania Latarjet as Denise Lemorne: Eldest daughter of Simone and Raymond
- Lucille Glenn as Gabrielle Lemorne: Youngest daughter of Simone and Raymond
Production
The Vanishing was written by director George SluizerGeorge Sluizer
George Sluizer , is a Dutch filmmaker whose credits include features as well as documentary films....
and author Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé
Tim Krabbé is a Dutch journalist and novelist.Krabbé was born in Amsterdam. His writing has appeared in most major periodicals in the Netherlands. He is known to Dutch readers for his novel De Renner , first published in 1978...
, whose book The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg
The Golden Egg , published as The Vanishing in English-speaking countries, is a psychological thriller novella written by Dutch author Tim Krabbé, first published in 1984...
the film is based on. The film is faithful to the novel changing two factors. The film's plot is more complicated than the novel, including more flashbacks and a change in the film's character focus. The second major difference is that the characters Rex Hofman and Raymond Lemorne spend more time together after meeting up.
Release and reception
George Sluizer
George Sluizer , is a Dutch filmmaker whose credits include features as well as documentary films....
and Anne Lordon received the Golden Calf for the Best Full Length-feature film at the Netherlands Film Festival
Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.During the ten-day festival, all Dutch film productions of the previous year are exhibited. Besides feature films, the program also consists of short subjects, documentary...
in 1988. The Vanishing was the Dutch submission for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988. The film was disqualified because the Academy determined that there was too much French dialog in the film to meet the requirements. AMPAS deemed that the film was unsuitable to represent the Netherlands. The Dutch declined to send another film, leaving them unrepresented for the first time since 1972. The film was released in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on December 20, 1989 under the title L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir (English: The Man Who Wanted to Know). Johanna ter Steege won a European Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1988.
The Vanishing was praised on international release.
It was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1991 and made the list of Top Foreign films of 1991 by the National Board of Review. Desson Howe of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
praised the film's avoidance of cliches, noting that it is "refreshingly free of manipulative scenes involving running bath water, jagged-edge cutlery and bunnies in the saucepan". Howe also made note of the unusual move of revealing the killer immediately and spending significant time learning about him. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
wrote a similar approval of this in the Chicago Sun Times stating "One of the most intriguing things about "The Vanishing" is the film's unusual structure, which builds suspense even while it seems to be telling us almost everything we want to know." Of the negative remarks, Ken Hanke of Mountain Xpress
Mountain Xpress
The Mountain Xpress is a free alternative newspaper covering news, arts, local politics, and events in Asheville and western North Carolina. Published each Wednesday in print and online, it has a print circulation of about 29,000...
referred to the film as "Okay, but wildly overrated and predictable." The Vanishing holds a very high critical rating at the film review database Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with 100% approval rating from critics with an average rating of 8.3/10. Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine placed the film at number 67 in their list of "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Home media
The first North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n copies of the film were released on Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
by Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is an independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming and film & television productions in North America, with approximately 3,000 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 250 exclusive CD titles in domestic release, and approximately 450...
on November 3, 1997. It was later released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
by Fox Lorber on November 11, 1997 followed by a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version released on May 13, 1998. The latest version of the film on DVD was released by The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
on September 18, 2001. The Criterion Collection version contains the original French trailer and an essay on the film by film critic Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
as a supplemental material.