| The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Guillaume Nicloux |
| Screenplay by | Guillaume Nicloux |
| Produced by | Sylvie Pialat |
| Starring | Michel Houellebecq Mathieu Nicourt Maxime Lefrançois Luc Schwarz Françoise Lebrun |
| Cinematography | Christophe Offenstein |
| Edited by | Guy Lecorne |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq (French: L'enlèvement de Michel Houellebecq) is a 2014 French comedy-drama film directed by Guillaume Nicloux, starring Michel Houellebecq, Mathieu Nicourt, Maxime Lefrançois and Luc Schwarz. It tells the story of how the famous author Michel Houellebecq is kidnapped and held for ransom by three men during a promotional tour in 2011.
The film was inspired by a rumour which occurred while Houellebecq was promoting his novel The Map and the Territory. For some time, he appeared to give no signs of life, which made newspapers in France speculate that he had been kidnapped. In reality he only had some trouble with his Internet connection.[1] The film premiered at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival where it played in the Forum section.[2] The film is a Les Films du Worso, Chic Films and ARTE France production.[3]
Nicloux's film Thalasso (2019) also stars Houellebecq in the role as himself and has been described as a follow-up to The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq.[4]