The Disappeared (2012) User Reviews (17)

Had such potential

[cbarneey · 5/10 · 18 November 2021]

I usually love survival kind of movies but the script fell way toooooooo short. But the dialogue was not compelling enough to draw you into to any of the characters.

It covers all the normal things that would happen at sea with sepsis for the man that dies with an infection and the other one going nuts and jumping in. And their beards never grew the whole time and their hair still had a sheen to it. Minor details but things I notice when I get bored with a film.

Just had to watch to the end to see if they get rescued. You never actually see a rescue but the way the fade out went to mist and darkens after, I say they never got rescued. I would have like to have a scene that lets you know how they ended up like that.

Pretty bad

[vodopivec · 2/10 · 27 August 2013]

Low budget and really slow and unoriginal.

There was nothing at all that I learned from this movie.

Thirst, hunger, death, vastness of Atlantic ocean?

Despair of being lost? Sailors going crazy?

Distorted sense of humour, personal issues brought to light?

There is at least 10 other movies on the same subject and I cannot recall a single thing that makes this particular movie any different.

As for the end, I didn't expect a Hollywood end, but I didn't expect no end at all either.

Save these two hours of your life for something else.

anyone who has been at sea knows this is laughably unrealistic. Also positive Reviews are all FAKE, single use accounts

[random-70778 · 26 September 2019]

The writer and director of this awful film obviously have never been to sea. That they can't write dialogue or direct their way out of a paper bag is also evident.

The issue is not food, it is water. You can go two to three weeks without any food and a lot longer if you can catch a few fish. But you cannot go three days without water in those conditions without loss of cognitive function and death shortly after. Also 60 minutes of rowing in a day in an open boat would double your water needs for a day. Also anyone involved in offshore fishing knows that it is not the distance to land -- but the currents that will or wont take you into shipping lanes that would matter. There are areas (eg where the Malaysian airliner went down) that have no regular shipping for 1,000 miles. But the area where they were is very close to extremely highly trafficked shipping lanes.

We're homeward bound

[LiamBlackburn · 3/10 · 15 October 2014]

The best part of the movie is the end. They left it unresolved. The men kept rowing, we don't know if they made it home. This is how it had to end. No corny endings. I had to fast-forward through parts of this movie. The characters/actors leave a lot to be desired. They did not pull you in to the movie. The screenplay is really weak. The actual shooting of the film is its strong point. Technically speaking. This doesn't mean that the shots were well-timed or added cinematic value though. There failed to be any sort of ebb and flow....(like the ocean's currents) to the movie. It was all just blahhh. The film is characterized by blahhhh acting, and a major lack of anything dynamic. Sure near the end, they start going a bit batty....but anyone can act that out. Sure the one guy had to die to add some sort of drama....but there was really nothing incredibly monumental about this whole production.

Wonderful and Moving

[nickbuzz · 9/10 · 11 November 2013]

Wonderful film - the story was powerful and the characters were both rich and subtle - their back stories were explored enough that I was interested and became attached, but it didn't go into too much detail about any of them. This kept things in the here and now - which was a theme throughout.

It was so nice to watch a film that didn't have a soundtrack! I really felt like I was on the water with the guys just hearing their voices, the ores and I think at one point, some whales. And I think music would have taken me out of that. I loved how there was so much silence. Silence is underused and I guess underrated as a cinematic tool, but a great decision was made here to let it carry the film throughout - as if it actually WAS the soundtrack. The silence was both beautiful and lonely. It must have been a challenge to make a film without music or special effects, having only a few characters and props - and still have it be engaging throughout. But it absolutely was.

The film does a great job of creating a feeling of being lost and disoriented with time and space - just another way the film makes us feel like we're a part of this journey.

On a purely entertainment level The Disappeared is a compelling survivalist story. But on a deeper level the film made me think about all the fishermen (and women?) who have become lost at sea. And to take it one step further there are unfortunate events and tragedies that happen all the time that we don't hear or think much about. And this film can get us thinking about those too.

Highly recommended.

Oh my.

[jimmerw · 1/10 · 13 January 2014]

I have made the following comment a few times: "This movie did not need to be made". Sweet almighty, that sentiment applies here. OK, I get the whole survivalist struggle. If this were some time in the 1940's, this might be new and innovative. I am watching this in 2014. It is, yet another dismal Canadian film. I am Canadian and I am so tired of our government doling out our tax dollars to make such movies.

We have the same old 'man's fight to survive' cliché. Old fishermen (portrayed by terrible, unknown actors) cast away in life boats. Their struggle to battle hunger and madness. Yawn. It's been done, ad nausea. If my fellow Canadian countrymen can not come up with an original idea and some real funding, please stop spending millions in tax payer dollars to make movies that 127 people will see. We have starving children, homeless single Mothers, etc, yet my government keeps dishing out millions to amateur film makers to make poor knock offs of movies that have already been made.

I think the few positive reviews I read on here were from cast members, crew, or family members.

This is truly an awful movie and waste of film.

A truly human story with a shocking amount of realism.

[mcip1993 · 10/10 · 8 October 2013]

Absolutely wonderful movie.

It's important not to go into it expecting flashy, fast-paced action like you see in a lot of oceanic survival movies. This movie exists to tell a story. The story of six men who represent every man lost at sea, fishing or not. Anyone who has any connection to the sea, whether it's through a family member, a friend or a childhood home needs to see this movie.

It takes a certain kind of person to enjoy movies like this. It does not distract from the story with clear obstacles, high-budgeted effects or any unnecessary information. Despite that, it's far from lifeless. Shandi Mitchell captured a terrifying realism in her depictions of the open water and the characters surviving on top of it.

The Disappeared takes you into a different head space, giving you plenty of time to pause and think. Like the characters, you are left reflecting on what is happening, and what that means for the future. The performances of the actors leave nothing left to be wanted, and Shawn Doyle took home the ACTRA award to prove it.

Remove yourself from the space of Hollywood jumble. Let The Disappeared show you a real and awe-inspiring story that you can never forget.

So bad

[cm-83027 · 1/10 · 8 November 2019]

Bad writing, acting and directing. My 5yr old could make this movie.

Terribly Awful Movie

[catsgarden · 1/10 · 7 March 2015]

The title must refer to the investors' money--or the time that viewers wasted.

What an awful movie. It has no beginning and it has no end. It's just two hours of watching men row, row, row their boat.

The positiver reviews must come from the makers of the movie, because this is just an awful, awful movie.

I apparently have to write ten lines of text, so I will add to my review: Don't waste your time. This movie must have cost $49 to make. If you want to watch a boat bob in the water for two hours, this is the movie for you. The only experience you'll have watching this movie is regret that you wasted two hours of your life on it.

I wish this entire movie would disappear!

[jordondave-28085 · 2/10 · 20 April 2023]

(2012) The Disappeared DRAMA

Co-written and directed by Shandi Mitchell with the entire movie taking place on a couple of row boats with paddles, three men on each boat tied to one another as viewers have to endure a whole hour and an a half of them arguing without a compass, and no food rationing as they're struggling to be found. Boring as heck, and to be honest, left myself with more questions than answers, such as the time it happened. And how long.

If you are talking about supposedly long term fisherman who are supposed to have experience, what viewers witness happens exactly the opposite who can be defined as annoyingly incompetent. There's a much superior movie called "Lifeboat" by Hitchcock check that movie instead.

Haunting & Riveting

[jordankholman · 9/10 · 9 October 2013]

First off - This is a film that you should see. If you live in Toronto, it looks like it's coming out in theatres on November 1st at the Carlton Cinema.

I had a film in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in France, and while there I was invited to come and see The Disappeared. I didn't know anything about the film going in, and I want anyone reading here to have the same experience, so I won't give anything away about the plot other than what is obvious from the poster :) 6 men, shipwrecked hundreds of miles from land in the North Atlantic, and trying to survive in 2 lifeboats on dwindling rations.

The power of this film is in its subtleties. Each of the 6 men have their own lives, hopes, and demons that they bring into the lifeboats. Some of those are in harmony with those of the other men...and some are not. Because the characters (and the camera) are bound to the lifeboats and the lifeboats alone, the film is persistently intense and focused. The imagery alone is haunting enough, but as time passes and the tension of the film increases, it becomes riveting. You want to look away, but you can't. By the end of the film, you feel as though you are in the boat with them.

Go see it!

Total waste of your time (and theirs)

[juancruz1974 · 1/10 · 31 March 2024]

What a stupid, pointless movie. Nothing happens in 90 minutes that should have been 15 (if that). No risk of a spoiler when the story never goes anywhere. Why would someone choose to make and release this movie is beyond me. It must have been a pain to film and it is certainly a pain to watch. Avoid it. Take a 90 minute nap, you are better off. This is the typical movie that participates in festivals for unknown reasons but that makes you regret having given some of your valuable time to watch. I do not recommend this movie to anyone and I wish I could have my time back. Low budget movies can be great, unfortunately this one is not.

intelligent viewers will love this

[shayislandshay · 10/10 · 17 December 2015]

Gosh,I really loved this movie.It is a work of art on many levels.Superb acting)i never felt that they were acting) ,moments of tenderness and fragility while 6 manly men battle their way across the ocean with sailor songs and sailor humor.Aportrait of 6 men each with there own reason for wanting to survive.I wish I could say more about it but i can only keep seeing the greyness and the boats in the mist.Ragged men brought to the brink of madness,brought to edge of despair.But as men of the sea will do,they buck up and rally and row..on and on and on.The drama is in their expressions and dialogue.The protagonist is the sea.The hero is the captain of course..as he refuses to abandon any of his men.There is so much hope..and I realized early on that I didn't care so much if they made it or not..i just felt I was with them for better or worse and that was enough.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

[mrspjmc · 1/10 · 24 January 2022]

Quite likely the worst movie I have ever seen, but with a budget of less than $5,000.00, you can't expect much. Half a dozen poor actors and two small row boats.

A haunting vignette

[rkhen · 8/10 · 15 January 2016]

That this movie was a truly athletic event to make is obvious in every frame. Classic Maritimer personalities, a storyline that manages to be both authentic and meaningful at the same time, this is Canadian filmmaking at its best.

You could watch The Disappeared just for the cinematography, which proves that skill and vision can trump technological bells and whistles if you insist. The supporting features describe how the director got her shots by using good old-fashioned human determination, rather than helicopters and CGI, and the results justify the effort.

I come from seafaring people myself; this movie spoke to me.

Just read the other reviewrs reviews ...

[letsjuatsay · 10/10 · 26 November 2021]

You people are laughable yourselfs you couldnt have directed shrek 2 lmao ... Cause if you could you would. But you are just broke sitting at home trash talking someone elses art. Take a hard look at your self you dont have one thing to your name do you other then your name lol good luck in life you sheeple.