The Absence (; ) is a 1992 French-German-Spanish drama film directed by Peter Handke. It follows the journey of four nameless people: the old man, the woman, the soldier, and the gambler. The film is based on Handke's novella with the same name. It premiered in competition at the 49th Venice International Film Festival. Cast Bruno Ganz as the gambler Jeanne Moreau as the writer's wife Alex Descas as the soldier Eustaquio Barjau as the writer Sophie Semin as the young woman Arielle Dombasle Release The film premiered on 6 September 1992 in competition at the 49th Venice International Film Festival. It was released in France on 20 January 1993 and Germany on 24 February 1994. Reception Thomas Quinn Curtiss wrote in The New York Times: "The movie, being shown at the film festival here, follows four people - an old man, a young woman, a soldier and a player - as they walk about an imaginary topography across continents, hoping to escape from their everyday existence. ... They pontificate and recite monologues, but as they arrive at no conclusions the spectator may wonder whether their journey was really necessary." References External links 1992 films Films based on works by Peter Handke Films directed by Peter Handke French drama films 1990s French-language films German drama films 1990s German-language films Films with screenplays by Peter Handke Spanish drama films 1990s Spanish-language films 1992 drama films 1992 multilingual films French multilingual films German multilingual films Spanish multilingual films Spanish-language French films 1990s French films 1990s German films French-language Spanish films