Spoorloos (1988)
Genre: Thriller / Mystery
Duration: 107 minuten
Alternative titles: The Vanishing / L'Homme Qui Voulait Savoir
Country:
Netherlands / France
Directed by: George Sluizer
Stars: Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege and Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
IMDb score:
7,6 (54.593)
Releasedate: 27 October 1988
Spoorloos plot
"Who Has Seen This Woman?"
A young couple is on their way to their holiday destination in France. During a stopover at a gas station, the girl disappears. Her boyfriend, obsessed with her disappearance, must and will know what happened.
Actors and actresses
Raymond Lemorne
Rex Hofman
Saskia Wagter
Lieneke
Farmer Laurent
Simone Lemorne
Denise Lemorne
Gabrielle Lemorne
Manager (uncredited)
Cashier (uncredited)
Reviews & comments
baspls
-
- 4118 messages
- 1673 votes
Of course I couldn't let a Hitchcockian mystery from Dutch soil pass me by.
Based on The Golden Egg by Tim Krabbé. Rex and his girlfriend Saskia are on their way to their holiday home in the south of France. When they stop at a gas station, Saskia gets lost. Years later, Rex is still obsessed with her disappearance...
Dutch acting always comes across as rather crafted and theatrical. Fortunately, almost the entire film is mainly French (Fortunately there were English subtitles, my French is not very good). Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, who plays the culprit, was particularly good. Of the Dutch-speaking cast, I thought the Fleming Gene Bervoets did the best. Especially in the later half of the film, he comes across very realistic.
Although the story itself is not very exciting and it takes a while before the film really gets going, it is nice and mysterious in the second half. Especially the preparations of the perpetrator and the confrontation made the film more than worth watching. I found the ending particularly strong, wonderful twist (at least if you haven't read the book like me).
It seems that Bervoets actually lay in a box underground at the end, for a realistic reaction. Donnadieu would also have provoked a real fight at the confrontation scene and would have grabbed Ter Steege rather clumsily. All this is clearly visible.
The film was beautifully shot on location in atmospheric France. Sluizer proves that he can film very neatly and can even make ambitious shots. I also really liked the music of Henny Vrienten, lovely eighties synthesizer sounds.
Spoorloos is really a masterpiece of which you will not come across much in our country. Together with films such as De Aanslag, Soldaat van Oranje and Amsterdamned, these are the only homegrown films that you can really appreciate.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Jack Sparrow
-
- 472 messages
- 3285 votes
Nicely directed film by George Sluizer. The tension and uncertainty is debilitatingly portrayed. There is a subcutaneous tension that will not go away. The ending is heavily portrayed and doesn't let go. Claustrophobic and hopeless. The editing of Tim Krabbé's book went well.
Translated from Dutch · View originalLatest News
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