Michael (2011)

AKA: –
Directed by: Markus Schleinzer, Kathrin Resetarits
Starring: Michael Fuith (Michael), David Rauchenberger (Child), Gisela Salcher (Colleague), Christine Kain (Mother), Ursula Strauss (Sister), Victor Tremmel (Brother-in-law)
Country: Austria, Effed Up European Cinema
Language: German, Effed Up German Movies
Runtime: 01:36:09
Genres: Based on a True Story, Captivity-Kidnapping, Gay, Old-Young Relationships, Childhood

Plot – Spoilers:
Based on Natascha Kampusch, but with the gender changed – a man holds a young boy captive in his elaborately designed basement.

It’s only halfway through the film that we realize that Michael is the name of the captor and not the victim. Which makes sense because this film is more about him – his sexual gratification, his selfish emotional needs and his awkwardness around people that are not underage.

Other thoughts – Massive Spoilers:
Of all the movies on here based on the Kampusch case, this one leaves little to maneuver around what Michael is. He’s a selfish pedophile. And that’s all. Everything is about him and his pleasures. When he leaves for a skiing trip and bids goodbye to his victim Wolfgang, there’s a smugness to his happiness, content in the knowledge that the boy will miss him, wile trapped and alone. Even when he tries to abduct another boy as a companion for Wolfgang, he does it after feeling inadequate that he hasn’t been able to replace Wolfgang’s parents, and not as a twisted act of kindness to the boy.