The Kidnapping Of Michel Houellebecq

Novelist and poet Michel Houellebecq, one of France's most famous and provocative intellectuals, briefly went missing in... (more)

Novelist and poet Michel Houellebecq, one of France's most famous and provocative intellectuals, briefly went missing in 2011, causing the French media to speculate wildly about a possible kidnapping. The writer refuses to talk about his mysterious disappearance to this day. In director Guillaume Nicloux's offbeat documentary-style take on the events, The Kidnapping of Michel houellebecq, Houellebecq gives a performance as himself: a disheveled misanthrope with a particular contempt for contemporary Europe and a fondness for wine and cigarettes. Captured and held for ransom, Houellebecq wins the admiration of his captors - three surprisingly friendly, considerate hoodlums. Points of view on literature, class, race, and even mixed martial arts are discussed with deadpan humor that turns a kidnapping into comedy. (less)

Michel Houellebecq, possibly the most widely read living French writer, was believed kidnapped on September 16, 2011. Bu... (more)

Michel Houellebecq, possibly the most widely read living French writer, was believed kidnapped on September 16, 2011. But was he really? After a flurry of media reports of his abduction, the story goes cold and Houellebecq, famously reclusive, refuses to set the record straight. Now he goes one step further by starring as himself in a film that purports to tell the tale. With a nod to O. Henry's short story, The Ransom of Red Chief, the film explores the dramatic territory where the personae of criminal and victim are remade in unexpected and surprisingly amusing ways. -Karen Cooper, Director, Film Forum. (less)