This was an Austrian film about a seemingly ordinary man who, back in the solitude of his own home, is a pedophile keeping a ten-year old captive in his basement. Even though it was the provocative plot that drew me in, what made the film so incredible was the subtlety with which the story is played out. With a style of direction almost Michael Haneke-esque, it was ultimately the emphasis on the mundane that really built the character of Michael, and what they didn’t show you that made every scene so unsettling and ominous. There was very little information given about the incidents that lead up to this boy’s abduction and very little insight into the mind of the man himself, but I feel that is because this isn’t so much about the external plot; this is a film about dark secrets and how well they can be hidden.
Michael.
Anonymous
