Streaming The Vanishing - Criterion Collection Online
Samedi, août 7th, 2010 |
Streaming The Vanishing - Criterion Collection Online.
Movie Title: The Vanishing - Criterion Collection The Vanishing - Criterion Collection is available for streaming or downloading. Click Here to Stream or Download The Vanishing - Criterion Collection |
A disturbing movie that will take you into realms usually reserved for Poe and Lovecraft, “The Vanishing,” directed by George Sluizer, is a dark tale that takes you into the twisted mind of a man named Raymond Lemorne (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu), with implications that are truly frightening. While on vacation, a young couple, Rex Hofman (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia Wagter (Johanna ter Steege), stop at a crowded rest area. While he fills the car with gas, she goes into the store for some drinks. And she never comes back. And, lest the scenario seem too improbable or implausible, Sluizer proceeds to take you back through the days preceding the mysterious disappearance; and once you meet Raymond, you begin to understand what happened, and how. And when you finally know, it’s as terrifying as anything you could possibly imagine.
On the surface, Raymond appears to be a rather “normal” individual; he’s married, with two children, and teaches science. He and his wife, Simone (Bernadette Le Sache), have recently purchased a country home which they are gradually restoring, and spend some time there with their children whenever they can. But hidden beneath Raymond’s reserved and respected exterior is a sociopath capable of actions so heinous it defies comprehension.
Leading up to the day of the vanishing, the film alternates between scenes of Rex and Saskia vacationing, and Raymond, as he methodically plans and calculates his cold-blooded crime. And it’s chilling, watching him prepare and fine-tune each step so matter-of-factly, as if he were staking out a new garden or planning a picnic with the family. It’s unsettling, watching Rex and Saskia going about their business, blissfully unaware of the terror that awaits them.
What puts the real bite into the impact of this film is the way it’s presented; this is no boogeyman-in-the-closet or “slasher” type horror film– it goes way beyond that and takes you into a very real world of very real horror. Early on, of course, you know that Raymond is responsible for Saskia’s disappearance. But don’t have a clue as to what he’s done with her or where she is– dead or alive– until the very end of the film.
The second half of the film concentrates on Hofman’s obsessive quest to find out what happened to Saskia. Three years have elapsed, and he still doesn’t have a clue (and neither does the audience at this point). Then something happens, something is revealed, and you follow along with Rex as he pursues the single clue he’s been given after all this time. And as you watch him desperately trying to uncover the truth, you begin to hope with all your heart that he does. Because after a point it becomes excruciatingly clear that if he fails, you’ll never know what happened, either.
Ter Steege lends an earthy vitality to the role of Saskia, with a performance that is entirely convincing and very real. Bervoets does a good job as well, credibly expressing the myriad emotional levels that Rex experiences. And Donnadieu, as Raymond, is absolutely disconcerting, exhibiting an off-handed nonchalance that evokes the image of a lion patiently stalking his prey.
The supporting cast includes Gwen Eckhaus (Lieneke), Tania Latarjet (Denise), Lucille Glenn (Gabrielle), David Bayle (Raymond at 16), Roger Souza (Manager) and Caroline Appere (Cashier). A sobering film that kind of sneaks up on you, “The Vanishing” does what most horror movies never really do– it makes your skin crawl. The ending is rather startling in it’s simplicity; it may even leave you nonplused for awhile. But once you’ve had some time to think about it and assimilate what actually happened, be prepared for a sleepless night or two. This is one that just isn’t going to leave you alone.
Perhaps I would have been better off if I had never seen this film. I don’t usually watch horror films. I was scared out of my wits by “Psycho” when it came out in theater’s (it’s hard for younger people who grew up with Freddie Kruger to imagine it, but there was a time when you didn’t see blood all over the screen.) This film does’t show any blood and I don’t remember much violence, however, it’s a psychologically terrifying movie like “Diabolique” so if you have a weak heart don’t watch it.
“The Vanishing” has a fine cast and was shot somewhere in the Netherlands–I believe the cast is Dutch. Johanna ter Steage(?), the fine actress who played Theo’s wife in “Vincent” and Frau Beethoven in “Immortal Beloved” plays a young woman who becomes the victim of a mentally unhinged stalker. The man’s derangement is demonstated by his lifelong willingness to “experience” things like deliberately falling off a balcony so he can see what it feels like to break an arm.
Johanna’s boyfriend cannot overcome the loss of his girlfriend. Her memory ruins opportunities to form a realationship with a new person. The crime drives the boyfriend to acquire the attributes of the man who ’stole’ his girlfriend. First he becomes obsessed about establishing a link with a particular person, just as the stalker became obsessed about finding a woman he could kidnap. Second he stalks the kidnapper in a variety of ways, just as the kidnapper used a variety of ways to lure a woman into his car. Third, he says he is willing to ‘experience’ what the kidnapper demands so that he can discover what happened to his girlfriend. In the end, I was left “unhinged.”
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