End of Year MOVIE JOURNAL

[Chris Knipp]

THE KIDNAPPING OF MICHEL HOULLEBECQ (Guillaume Nicloux 2014). Today's most famous and successful French writer plays himself in this deadpan spoof telefilm by Nicloux. Ugly, prune-faced, nondescript, the film's Houllebecq is calm and good humored in captivity, he only wants to be given plenty of cigarettes, access to a lighter, and liquor to drink. He gets on quite well with his kidnappers and they with him. A spirit of conviviality prevails. There is no sense of condescension or hostility: when his release comes, he admits he could have stayed longer. The film itself is unpretentious, without focus on public response, negotiations, anything like that. Maybe a nice break and vacation but M.H. is a [i]drole de type[/i and somebody you'd like to hang out with. His books never appealed to me, but now I like him. Some admiring English language reviews (though no AlloCiné rating because no theatrical release) made me want to catch up and see it. Enjoying Nicloux's recent Netflix mini-series, the 4-part time-travel love story starring Gaspard Ulliel "Twice Upon a Time" ("Il y était une deuxième fois"), pushed me to follow through. Watched via Amazon streaming Jan. 6, 2020. Metascore 60%.