I first saw
Markus Schleinzer’s Michael at the Chennai International Film Festival in
December 2011. The festival was powered by obscure films from unsung directors
and with respect to narrowing down my choices, I certainly had my work cut out.
I don’t like going by plotlines. Stories don’t matter to me nearly as much as
storytelling and characters do. Critical acclaim was the only deciding factor.
But most of these films hadn’t even been released. Michael premiered ‘In
Competition’ at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. I learnt of the premise only
after the presenter said “The film is about a paedophile who locks up a kid in
his basement.” My hopes were up. I like films that permeate into the dark depths
of the human mind. Michael did that and more.
A half-bald man
is just getting home from work. The house is a barren place. Empty. Quiet.
Lifeless. You hear the sound of things being moved, things being dropped,
things being carefully placed. The window blinds fall. He takes the stairs down
to the basement and unlocks a heavy metal door. “Come on” he says. A little boy
walks out of an unlit room. They share a silent dinner and watch TV hoping to
inspire a hint of life into their lives. The boy is urged downstairs, back to
the basement. The man follows shortly after and shuts the heavy metal door
behind him. The film cuts to a visual of the man washing his genitals. Say
Hello to our lead character, Michael (Michael Fuith). And his boy toy, Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger).
