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Cast: Michael Fuith, David Rauchenberger, Christine Kain
A drama focused on five months in the life of pedophile who keeps a 10-year-old boy locked in his basement.
I do not think it's even appropriate to call this film entertaining because it was mostly a disturbing experience and gives you a sick feeling in your stomach but a lot of credit has to go out to Writer/Director, Markus Schleinzer for tackling such a subject. What amazed me most about the film was the fact that it remained so subtle but yet so effective. Many films similar to "Michael" have been full of exploitation to get their point across but this film has none nor does it need to have any. Schleinzer manages to keep things simple but at the same time he gets you into the head of this man right from the start and believe me it's not a pretty place to be.
Michael Fuith as Michael and the young David Rauchenberger as Wolfgang are both simply amazing here, I can only imagine how hard it must of been for the child actor to play a role like this, I'm sure there had to be a lot of talking in between takes with the Director in order to keep the boy focused.
Story wise there isn't much more to add to the synopsis above because nothing you can read about the plot will prepare you for what you are about to experience. Definitely a disturbing film but it's done with class, if there can be such a thing considering the material here. A sobering and yet eye-opening experience that I recommend to anyone that has the stomach to handle such subject matter.
I applaud everyone involved in making "Michael" because it is certainly a brave film and it's one that leaves you thinking about it long after it is over. Like I said earlier, I cannot say it was entertaining but I can tell you it effected me in ways I haven't been effected by in a long time, to call this a masterpiece is probably the best description I can come up with so if you're up for the challenge I highly recommend checking it out now.
You can order the DVD HERE.
Released by Strand Releasing
***** Out Of *****