When Michel Houellebecq, one of the most well-known writers in France, disappeared for a few weeks recently, there were media rumors that he had been kidnapped. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq is an absurdist mockudrama in which Houellebecq himself plays himself in an imagined kidnapping. Once Houellebecq’s captors hide him in a farmhouse, the interactions between the characters become very funny.
The humor is all very droll and stems from the characters’ reactions to what Houellebecq finds to be an absurd situation. He is kept in the frilly room of a little girl, complete with large doll. And we see one of France’s leading public intellectuals and his less gifted captors fully engaged in existential discussions on topics such as “Does Poland exist?”.
Unfortunately, The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq opens with an almost intolerably slow segment BEFORE he is kidnapped. In fact, the pace of the entire film is pretty slow, so The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq is not for everyone.
But if you fast forward over the beginning and settle into observing the writer and his motley crew of kidnappers, you’ll find some laughs. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq is available streaming on Netflix Instant, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.