Review No.94: Michael

Don't worry folks this isn't a look at the re-release of that film in which John Travolta plays but rather a review of a film with a controversial air about it. Michael focuses on Michael Fuith's eponymous lead character who is a man in his mid-thirties working at an insurance company and living a rather sheltered life. Michael unlike his brothers and sisters is unmarried and has no children while he also fends of advances from a co-worker however he is different from the rest of society in that he has a 10 year old boy locked in his basement. This boy is Wolfgang who lives in an underground part of Michael's house which he has done up like a child's room however he is allowed out to watch television or eat dinner while on one occasion Michael even takes him out on an excursion. The film never tries to explain how Michael got Wolfgang in the first place, however a scene at a Go Kart track explains how he might have been tempted way from his parents, we just know that he is essentially now a prisoner. At times the film does portray Michael as a paedophile as it is implied that he has sexually assaulted Wolfgang even if it is not shown on screen however their relationship is more like a father and son one than anything else. The film is also keen to show that Michael isn't just a recluse as he succeeds in getting a promotion at work, agrees to help find a missing cat, goes on a skiing weekend with some colleagues and even has a strange sexual encounter with a waitress. Just when you think you know where the film is going director Markus Schleinzer steers you into an entirely different direction in the last ten minutes with an extremely ambiguous ending to the film that I personally was not a fan of.

The content of Michael will obviously be compared to what happened in the Josef Fritzel case however the relationship between Michael and Wolfgang isn't seen as particularly abusive as it is almost like the young boy has realised that his life won't really change. Schleinzer's film is almost a series of intercut sketches as we move from one scene to another without little incident at all mainly because he wants to show us the extraordinary lives these two characters lead as well as the relationship they share. This style at times was a little drab I'm all for following the lead protagonists through their daily routines but in a film with subject matter this controversial a little more background on how Wolfgang ended up in Michael's basement would've been good. One thing I thought was excellent was the two central performances with Michael Fuith really convincing as the normal guy with the massive secret while David Rauchenberger was also excellent in dealing with such sensitive subject matter for one so young. Michael is different from other films about children trapped in their homes, like The Apple or Dogtooth, in that Wolfgang's situation isn't presented as completely perilous and if you didn't know the details you would think they were nothing more than a family unit. There are couple of scenes, namely the sexualised ones, which make for uncomfortable viewing however it isn't as shocking as one may think. An interesting film then with a very controversial subject which some people won't want to go near the problem with Michael is that it feels very disjointed at times despite having some excellent performances.

Verdict: Two great lead turns and an interesting subject matter are harmed by a inconsistent filmic style as well as a gimmicky ambiguous ending so for those reasons it gets 7/10