Spoorloos, literally translated as "Traceless" or "Without a Trace", is a 1988 thriller film directed by George Sluizer, adapted from the novella The Golden Egg (1984) by Tim Krabbé.

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Very rarely thrillers manage to generate that restlessness that this genre should have and that, once the final credits of the film appeared, it makes us twist in our seat, and that we are uncomfortable. Luckily, this film meets the requirements of the genre, and does it in the best way.

Spoorloos, known as The Vanishing, has a first act that could make us misinterpret what awaits us throughout its history by presenting a conflict seen on numerous occasions. A Dutch couple, Rex and Saskia, spend an idyllic vacation outside their country, until a kidnapper, Lemorne, kidnaps the woman making it disappear without a trace, so unleashes the subsequent search by his couple.

Yes. I have revealed the identity of the kidnapper, but it is not a spoiler, and it is here that the atypical begins, and what makes this film such a fresh and absorbing experience. In Spoorloos the great mystery will not be "who" but the "how", the reason for the motivations of the kidnapper.

With this premise, the director George Sluizer manages to get us stuck in the story thanks to the way of dosing information slowly, making us reach the answers very slowly, developing the plot with a slow progression that makes the viewer despair, in a present agony throughout the film, and that leaves us an end of those that are hard to forget.

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But that's not all, the film is alternating the point of view of the story constantly to make sense of all the questions, giving rise not only to a multiple protagonist, but also to two radically different stories with very different themes, that will end up converging in what are possibly the best moments of the film.

The film shows the story of Rex, the husband of the kidnapped, and his search over the years to make sense of events and finally clear his mind of the doubts we share with him from our position as spectators. Rex's fragments deal with the subject of obsession in a way similar to what Christopher Nolan does in his films today, with a protagonist tormented by something that will lead him down self-destructive paths while trying to end his conflicts.

On the other hand, we are presented with the story of Lemorne, building what is undoubtedly the most shocking part of the film. These fragments focus on defining the figure of the sociopath and explain not only his meticulous procedure, but also his motivations in such a logical, simple and rational way that it makes the hair stand on end. And that is where the magic of the character lies, since he is a simple man that we could find on the street, in the store, or anywhere else without noticing all the evil that he harbors inside.

In short, Spoorloos is a film that lives up to its cataloging within the thriller category. It is simple in its base and execution, with a slow and exasperating pace, but it surprises very pleasantly in its development and especially in its excellent result. A jewel very to take into account!