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Michael

Release Date 02 Mar 2012 02 Aug 2012

  • User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

   

Certificate: 18

Genre: Drama

MICHAEL describes the last five months of 10-year-old Wolfgang and 35-year-old Michael’s involuntary life together.

Cast:
Michael Fuith | David Rauchenberger | Christine Kain

Writers:
Markus Schleiner

Producers:
Nikolaus Geyrhalter | Markus Glaser | Michael Kitzberger | Wolfgang Widerhofer

Directors:
Markus Schleinzer

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  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

MICHAEL (Austria/IFI/96mins)

Directed by Markus Schleinzer. Starring Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger, Christine Kain, Ursula Strauss, Victor Tremmel, Xaver Winkler, Thomas Pfalzmann.

THE PLOT: Present-day Austria, and Michael (Fuith) is the mild-mannered, office drone type, keeping to himself and at a distance from his fellow workers. Understandable, perhaps, because, at home, in the basement, Michael’s got a pre-pubescent boy, Wolfgang (Rauchenberger) held captive. They have meals together. They occasionally go out on day trips. Michael even attempts to pick up a friend for Wolfgang after he recovers from an illness. An illness worrying enough for Michael to dig a hole in the nearby forest. And then their story takes a little twist. Or two.

THE VERDICT: Michael Haneke influences abound here (debut director Schleinzer having long worked as a casting director for his fellow Austrian), but there’s little of that Funny Games’ or The White Ribbon’s depth or tantalizing deception to go with all the dark disturbance here. Sure, it’s glossy, fittingly cold, well-crafted and well-acted (Fuith picking up a Dublin Film Critics gong at the recent JDIFF), but Michael doesn’t inspire much in the line of emotional response. Other than admiration. And a slow, creeping repulsion. More a study in social dysfunction than paedophelia (despite being inspired by the Natascha Kampusch case), Michael is just as ultimately aimless and alienating as its subject. RATING: 2/5

Review by Paul Byrne 

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    mart

    Michael has been forged in the Haneke mould, treating its incendiary material with an aloof, banalising calm and withholding any overt judgment or moral standpoint. The film is not merely a chilling insight into the day-to-day banality of evil, but also an unbearably suspenseful and tense drama.There are no easy conclusions here - no explanations. Events unfold with a random, even black comic abandon.What interests Schleinzer is putting us inside Michael's head, even though we're repelled by his activities, and his no-frills approach works

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    filmbuff2011

    Michael stoked controversy last year at Cannes, but set aside anything you've heard about it and you'll find Markus Schleiner's debut film thought-provoking. A seemingly bland, regular joe goes about his daily routine, going to work, coming home from work, cooking dinner... then he goes down to the basement where he keeps a 10-year-old boy locked up. It doesn't take a genius to figure out why the boy is there. The word "paedophile" will no doubt turn many people away from the box office, but this film is never what you expect it to be. Anything horrific is kept offscreen and is left to the audience's imagination. One potentially divisive scene at a dinner table even evokes a chuckle. Given recent events in Austria that made headlines around the world, it's not hard to imagine a story like this happening. Is this what happened to Madeline McCann? One wonders. What's most striking about the film is that the title character is not some raving psychopath. He seems so regular, he could be your next door neighbour. The ending lacks closure but seems appropriate enough. If you're open-minded enough to take chance on Michael then you're not likely to forget it in a hurry.

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