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Michael

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Sun 20 May 2012 // 20:00
Mon 21 May 2012 // 20:00
Tue 22 May 2012 // 20:00 *
Wed 23 May 2012 // 20:00

(Sun 20th - Wed 23rd May / 8pm / £5/4/3 TTT)
(Markus Schleinzer / Austria / 2011 / 96 minutes / Certificate 18)

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUg0Mok8TTQ

Directed by Michael Haneke protégée, making his directorial debut, Markus Schleinzer holds no punches in tackling a taboo subject, just in the way Haneke has done in the past, yet still manages a subtly and opposite to sensationalist view into the world of title character Michael Fuith and victim Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger). Not since Todd Solondz's "Happiness", has the subject of pedophilia been shown in more uncomfortable detail on the big screen. The Austrian director tells the story of a dull office worker who keeps a kidnapped young boy locked in his house, where he continually subjects the child to sexual abuse. Despite its subversive edge, "Michael" successfully drains the shock out of a frightening premise and instead delivers a keen observational thriller.
Receiving rave reviews across the board and having been officially selected at Cannes and Toronto last year, this film tackles a subject still fresh in the minds of many fellow Austrians following the case of Natascha Kampusch, held captive by her kidnapper for more than eight years until she escaped in 2006.