Sunday, April 11, 2010

The Vanishing

This 1988 Dutch thriller does several interesting things with the abduction movie in that the plot is disjointed and nonlinear and also in that it is more existential in nature. We know the plot has something to do with a woman's abduction so the beginning of the film offers scenarios in which a Dutch woman could be kidnapped, but never does, at least in the first couple of opportunities (This is similar to the opening of the classic Bicycle Thieves). When she is finally kidnapped, it haunts her boyfriend and he spends years looking for her, until one day the kidnapper contacts him. This is a thinking man's thriller where we meet real sympathetic characters. Even the kidnapper is shown in this way. The plot, like I mentioned, is told through flashbacks and this adds to the story's suspense.
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