AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

ozzieboo Well done. It is a thriller and a horror film in many ways but it mostly affected me as a meditation on obsession and our fear of/attraction to the unknown. I had seen the remake of this film years ago. The original is much better I think.

Mito *** Spoilers ***Why Rex drank the drugged coffee?Rex must have felt that what happened to Saskia is partially his fault. After all, he left her alone and frightened in the dark tunnel, something for which he regretted when he realized how scared she was. Then he took an oath to not leave her ever again. An oath he couldn't keep even for a day, despite it wasn't really his fault.The point is, in my opinion, Rex was teared apart by guilt for 3 long years because he was feeling somewhat guilty. His remorse was clearly demonstrated by what he said to his new girlfriend Lineke: "If Saskia was alive I would choose you, but if I really have a choice, I would rather go back to that gas station three years ago to be with Saskia (paraphrasing)." Again, he remembers Saskia's dream about how lonely she was while trapped in a golden egg, floating somewhere in the Neverland. Forever, until her egg collides with a second one. Three years later, Rex is still constantly thinking about what happened to Saskia, and the days preceding her disappearance. Now his life is completely ruined – Lineke is about to leave him because everything Rex does, everywhere he goes the ghost of his former girlfriend haunts him; he is also probably deeply in debt and his career (and entire life) put on hold. Rex is already living in hell.Admittedly, his decision to drink the cup of drugged coffee is completely irrational. But then, again Rex's mind has already been broken by the time he and Raymond met. Do you remember how happy he looked with Saskia at the gas station? Probably the only other scene you will see him half smiling is when he discussed funny names with Raymond. Would you do that with the man who kidnapped and probably killed your girlfriend/wife? A sociopath and another person, who is aware of the sociopath's deeds, are bonding over stories told by the former, in fact, reveals how mentally damaged is the latter individual as well.The final push to Rex's illogical step towards his very plausible demise came when he found the coins buried (a great deal of "Golden eggs" symbolism is included in the flick) during the very last moments he and Saskia had together 3 years ago. In the spur of the moment, overwhelmed by the memory, guilt, and, of course, his obsession "To Know," and unable to think rational anymore, he does the unthinkable – he drinks the cup just like a suicide would ingest a poisonous drink. The analogy with a suicidal person is appropriate, I think, because they also do stupid things, which might seem illogical to every other person in the right state of mind. He drank it to drown his sorrows.Lastly, let's go back to the point of Rex feeling remorse about leaving Saskia alone…again, and his oath. Knowing that his fate is most likely sealed (no pun intended) if he proceeds to take the killer's bitter drink, Rex commits something similar to suicide. A part of him feels he deserves what is going to happen to him – the same thing happened to Saskia. But in his mind might seem more like a sacrifice. Rex finally embraces his fate. His desire is "To Know" and to reunite with Saskia somewhere as both being golden eggs, floating together until they collide.

quinimdb (Warning: Don't read any reviews before watching this movie. It's best to go into this one completely blind.)When a couple goes on a seemingly innocent trip, the woman in the relationship seemingly vanishes after they take a short stop at a gas station. And now we have The Vanishing, one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time.The most interesting thing about this film is how it gains it's suspense. It's not through not knowing who the murderer is or not knowing when or who he'll strike next, it's gained through the idea that we don't know how and why the murderer did it. The murderer is revealed quite early in the movie, and he generally seems like a normal guy. He has a wife and kids and friends, one of which who laughs at the thought of him being a murderer. The film suggests that anyone we know could be a murderer and we may not know it.The main character of the film, the man in the relationship, has been looking for his former girlfriend for 3 years and even though he no longer believes she is alive, he is still obsessed with finding out what exactly happened to her, some would say out of pure curiosity and some would say because of fate. When everyone else (including the police) has given up searching for answers, he continues, and eventually he finds them. And where it brings him eventually is possibly because it simply was supposed to happen that way. The same reason that this happened in the first place, out of pure fate. And in a world where the murderer will probably get away and no one will ever know it was him, maybe they deserve to be together, somewhere off in another world, escaping from their golden eggs...

FilmCriticLalitRao Dutch film "The Vanishing" (Spoorloos) was released quietly in 1988 but its popularity has grown exponentially over the years. Its impact on mainstream cinema especially Hollywood has been tremendous as its director George Sluizer got a chance to direct American version of this film with established actors Jeff Bridges and Kiefer Sutherland. The reasons for liking "The Vanishing" could be many but anybody who has seen it would agree that it makes its way to viewers' hearts and minds as it portrays a highly intelligent criminal who keeps everybody guessing about his real motives. George Sluizer was able to extract excellent performances from all his leading actors especially from Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu who is truly unbelievable due to his profile of a 'common man' who bumps into most of us on a daily basis. 'Spoorloos' is recommended for those viewers who tend to forget their watches when they see an intelligent story unroll on screen. As there is no match for an original product, 'The Vanishing' continues to enjoy a new lease of life partially due to its discovery by new admirers of thriller cinema due to its release on DVD by Criterion collection.