A Dutch Film, And Yes It's Weird

Last night I watched The Vanishing, a Dutch film from 1988. It's been many years since I've seen it, so it was like watching it for the first time. It's a very good film about a man obsessed with the disappearance of his girlfriend. Years after the event he launches a campaign to find her and to have her abductor step forward so he can understand what happened to her. I won't give away the story in full, but I will tell you the boyfriend and the abductor share the problem of obsession.

In a way this is a horror film, about the horror of uncertainty, meaninglessness, lack of knowing. If the boyfriend could only know what happened to his girlfriend, then he could get over it. There is also a strange kind of horror in watching the abductor joyously research and rehearse the kidnapping. He spends hours each day in fine-tuning his plan, as if he's an ordinary hobbyist.

The Dutch. They bring something special, something new. How do they do it? Perhaps a listen to the Shocking Blue will help us understand. Nirvana covered this song. This is the original:

Shocking Blue - Love Buzz

Tot ziens.