Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq

Name: Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2014
Duration: 93 min
Cast: Françoise Lebrun, Michel Houellebecq, Mathieu Nicourt, Maxime Lefrançois, Luc Schwarz

Guillaume Nicloux20141h 33mComedy, Drama

Why we chose it

When Michel Houellebecq went missing during a book tour in 2011, the French press wrongly reported he’d been kidnapped. A few years later he agreed to be kidnapped for this film, in which he eats sausage with his captors and talks about everything. The humour is absurd and constantly surprising.

Synopsis

His kidnappers bundle Michel Houellebecq, the famous French writer, into a metal box with air holes and drive him out of town to the home of one kidnapper’s parents. They chain him to a bed, then immediately start worrying about his comfort. There’s wine, there are cigarettes, and dinner is eaten together around one table.