George Sluizer recently remade this, his own original Dutch version, in America with Kiefer Sutherland and Jeff Bridges. A more audience pleasing, action type film, it was quite an entertaining work.
The original is set in France as we find two young Dutch people, Rex Holfman and his 'friend' Saskia, on the way to a little hideaway in rural France. Their pleasant little getaway takes a cruel turn when Saskia disappears at a highway road stop. After a desperate three year search, Rex is confronted by Raymond, a man who claims to be the abductor.
The storyline is a lot more realistic than the re-make, with Sluizer simply using the two main characters to involve his audience, by first allowing us to obsess along with Rex about the whereabouts of his lost love, and secondly by slowly introducing us to the disturbed Frenchman Raymond.
Lead players Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege and support are very good as is Sluizer's thoughtful direction, while the plot unfolds itself at a well judged pace. And the ending, which is quite different to the more recent film, is a much more suitable, believable and disturbing one. This superior 1988 Dutch movie is well worth your while.
Sunday, January 23, 1994 - Video
The original is set in France as we find two young Dutch people, Rex Holfman and his 'friend' Saskia, on the way to a little hideaway in rural France. Their pleasant little getaway takes a cruel turn when Saskia disappears at a highway road stop. After a desperate three year search, Rex is confronted by Raymond, a man who claims to be the abductor.
The storyline is a lot more realistic than the re-make, with Sluizer simply using the two main characters to involve his audience, by first allowing us to obsess along with Rex about the whereabouts of his lost love, and secondly by slowly introducing us to the disturbed Frenchman Raymond.
Lead players Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege and support are very good as is Sluizer's thoughtful direction, while the plot unfolds itself at a well judged pace. And the ending, which is quite different to the more recent film, is a much more suitable, believable and disturbing one. This superior 1988 Dutch movie is well worth your while.
Sunday, January 23, 1994 - Video