THE KIDNAPPING OF MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ

When best-selling and famously reclusive novelist Michel Houllebecq disappeared during his book tour in 2011, the rumors that spread regarding his whereabouts ran the gamut from suicide to, as the title suggests, a kidnapping. So endless was the speculation that we now have a perfectly perplexing film about it. Partly based on real-life events and starring Houellebecq himself, this fascinating and, despite its ominous-sounding title, wildly funny film blurs the line between fiction and documentary. Whatever the real truth may be, what we do know is that director Guillaume Nicloux has created a highly entertaining and farcical piece of cinema that echoes the dry tone and tongue-in-cheek presentation of its unique and ever-unconventional subject.

-Frederic Boyer