Spoorloos, a Dutch/French thriller lives up to it's genre. It is first and foremost a psychological thriller in which the audience pretty much understands what's happening, but has to go through the agony of the Rex Hoffman character who, as Raymond the antagonist puts, never had the chance to fall out of love. (spoiler) This is of course the vanishing of his vivacious girlfriend. The filmmakers craft the antagonist better than the other characters - a self-described sociopath who tries to give us in words what motivates his despicable actions. He is a family man but obviously is beyond the pale. The music affords a haunting 80s odd feel. And the lead several actors all perform well, especially Raymond. Additionally there's some interesting philosophical banter associated with destiny - if you reverse a choice after going with your original hunch, are you altering reality somehow? A solid outing for the genre worth a look - a little bit aged though.
Review of The Vanishing
