The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq

Provocative contemporary French author Michel Houellebecq (who has been accused of bigotry, misogyny, and obscenity in both his novels and public pronouncements) appears as himself—or at least a version of himself—in filmmaker Guillaume Nicloux's cheerfully nutty pseudo-thriller, which is essentially an extended riff on rumors that circulated about Houellebecq's three-day disappearance during a 2011 book tour. Here, Houellebecq is supposedly abducted by a gang of small-time crooks working for some mysterious figure, and then held prisoner at the farmhouse of an elderly Polish couple outside Paris. Houellebecq is depicted as a blasé captive—a chain smoker primarily concerned about being deprived of his cigarette lighter—while his captors are a curiously hospitable group, quizzing the author about writing techniques, and providing him with good food, his preferred wines, and even a local prostitute (one of the kidnappers, a bodybuilder, also schools him in some fighting moves). The friendly bonds grow so strong, in fact, that Houellebecq is eventually regretful that he can't stay longer. Nicloux shoots the film in a ragged, handheld cinema vérité style, and while the acting is purely functional, Houellebecq does comes across as convincingly bewildered. A low-key comic yarn, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)