Missing

Missing

Year: 2007

Runtime: 85 mins

Language: Dutch

Director: Jan Verheyen

ThrillerDramaCrime

Five members of a Missing Persons Task Force probe the disappearance of 17‑year‑old Evi. As they examine her strained relationship with her parents—making her father a prime suspect—they uncover a recent shift in her life: she attended multiple sex parties and received lavish gifts from a mysterious new acquaintance. The investigation wrestles with whether Evi fell prey to a pimp or if her father reacted violently after learning of her secret life.

Dark
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Steady pacing
Complex story

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Missing (2007)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Missing (2007). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present day

The story unfolds in contemporary times, anchored by modern scuba equipment, memory work through hypnosis, and digital photography. The plot interweaves environmental activism with personal trauma, grounding the mystery in current scientific and medical practices. The night-time dives, shipwrecks, and underwater explorations reflect a present-day setting rather than a historical period.

Location

Ryukyu Islands, Yonaguni underwater city, Feng Lai, Hualien

The setting centers on the remote Ryukyu Islands, where clear waters and strong currents shape the dive-based investigation. Yonaguni’s submerged ruins appear as a haunting underwater backdrop that frames key revelations. The journey also threads through a coastal Feng Lai cabin and the island of Hualien, enriching the story with shifting locations and maritime atmosphere.

🗺️ Remote location 🌊 Oceanic backdrop 🏝️ Island setting 🧭 Mystery-laden voyage

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:15

Main Characters – Missing (2007)

Meet the key characters of Missing (2007), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Dr. Gao Jing

A psychiatrist who experiments with hypnotism and drugs, Gao Jing becomes entangled in a love triangle and a mystery surrounding her boyfriend’s disappearance. After a drug-induced memory recovery, she experiences heightened sensory sensitivity and ghostly disturbances. Her actions eventually reveal a darker truth about the events at sea and her own culpability.

💬 Psychological 🧠 Memory 🌊 Ocean 💞 Romance

Guo Dong

Gao Jing’s partner, who lures her to the underwater world with a hidden engagement ring and a charismatic presence. He is slain in a mysterious accident and later appears as a benevolent ghost who guides or tests the living. His past decisions and the ring symbolize a doomed attempt at a lasting bond.

🔍 Mystery 🧠 Mind 🌊 Ocean

Xiao Kai

Xiao Kai is Guo Dong’s sister who believes her brother may still be alive and begins searching for him. She is practical, determined, and skeptical, driving the investigation and challenging Gao Jing’s memory.

💬 Investigation 🧠 Analytical 🌊 Sea 💞 Family

Haiya Amu

Friend of Guo Dong who accompanies the search near shipwrecks and horizons. He is killed, his death adding a layer of danger and complicating the detective arc. His role is to push the plot forward through loyalty and tragedy.

🗺️ Loyalty 🗡️ Danger 🌊 Ocean 🧭 Exploration

Dr. Tang

Gao Jing’s colleague who authorizes hypnotism therapy and drug administration. He represents the medical temptation and the ethical boundaries of memory recovery. His actions drive the film’s psychological tension.

⚗️ Medicine 🧠 Ethics 🧪 Experimentation

Simon

A patient who claims to see Guo Dong’s dripping wet ghost and who shares the same light-sensitivity as Gao Jing after treatment. He becomes a kind of ally but is also endangered by the events surrounding the narcotic-induced visions.

👁️ Perception 🔦 Sensitivity 🌊 Ocean 👻 Ghosts

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:15

Major Themes – Missing (2007)

Explore the central themes of Missing (2007), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💭 Memory

Memory fragility drives the plot as Gao Jing’s amnesia and the faded memories of Guo Dong blur what happened during the narcosis. Hypnosis and drug-assisted recall pull characters back into the past, but also raise questions about how memory can be manipulated. Ghostly apparitions and recovered photographs act as mnemonic triggers that pull the present into old traumas. The struggle to reconstruct identity and truth sits at the heart of the film.

💞 Love

Romantic longing underpins the pursuit and the ring that Guo Dong hides symbolizes commitment and a future together. The relationship between Gao Jing and Guo Dong becomes a lens through which trust, devotion, and betrayal are tested. Love crosses paths with danger as the past intrudes on the present, with decisions driven by affection as much as by fear. The unresolved romance fuels both the emotional stakes and the mystery.

👻 Ghosts

The film blends supernatural imagery with psychological unease as Guo Dong’s ghost and other specters appear to the living. Apparitions interact with the living through memories, visions, and drug-induced perceptions, complicating the search for truth. The ghosts serve as both witnesses and wrenches that disrupt ordinary reality. The final scenes fold the dead back into the sea’s depths, suggesting a liminal space between life and afterlife.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 12:15

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Thrillers with Unreliable Investigators like Missing

Thrillers where the protagonist's fragile psyche complicates a dark investigation.Discover movies like Missing where a personal investigation is clouded by the protagonist's own psyche. If you enjoyed the way Missing used Gao Jing's fragile memory and guilt to complicate the search for truth, you'll find similar complex and unsettling narratives here.

unreliable narratorpsychologicaldisorientingsuspensefulatmospherictragichaunting

Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread typically follow a character determined to uncover a truth, but their personal trauma, guilt, or unstable mental state acts as a filter, distorting clues and memories. The narrative often involves hypnotic regression, hallucinatory visions, or flashbacks that may be unreliable, leading to a twist that re-contextualizes both the investigation and the protagonist's role in it.

Why These Movies?

These films are grouped by their shared focus on an unreliable point-of-view within a thriller framework. They create a specific, disorienting tension by making the audience question not just the facts of the case, but the sanity and honesty of the person piecing them together.

Movies with Bittersweet Endings about Grief like Missing

Stories where profound loss leads to a tragically beautiful, rather than happy, conclusion.Explore films with endings similar to Missing, where a story of heavy grief and investigation concludes on a note of tragic beauty. If the underwater reunion and symbolic resolution of Missing resonated with you, this collection features other emotionally powerful stories that find peace in sorrow.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative pattern involves a character consumed by the trauma of a loved one's death, often accompanied by a burden of guilt. The climax and resolution do not erase the pain but instead offer a symbolic, almost spiritual, acceptance or connection. The ending feels bittersweet, acknowledging the permanence of loss while finding a sliver of peace, often through a hauntingly beautiful visual metaphor.

Why These Movies?

These films are united by their specific emotional arc and conclusion. They provide a catharsis that is not about joy or victory, but about a deeply moving, aesthetically resonant acceptance of tragedy, leaving the viewer with a sense of melancholic beauty.

Unlock the Full Story of Missing

Don't stop at just watching — explore Missing in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Missing is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Missing Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Missing, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Missing Summary

Missing Timeline

Track the full timeline of Missing with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Missing Timeline

Missing Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Missing that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Missing Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Missing

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Missing: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Missing

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Missing (2007) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

Missing (2007) Scene-by-Scene Movie Timeline

Missing (2007) Spoiler-Free Summary & Key Flow