The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq
Kino Lorber | Release Date: March 25, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
64
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Village VoiceMelissa AndersonMar 24, 2015
Crucially, all four men, plus the ancillary characters who appear throughout the film, prove to be excellent company, holding forth on literature, Europe's future, inner-ear ailments, and side triceps. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeMar 26, 2015
The film is hard on the eyes, having been shot in a low-budget style with the ubiquitous digital palette of gray-beige-taupe. Fortunately, it’s also hilarious, full of humor that is understated, wry and dependent on familiarity with interests as wide as Houellebecq’s own. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineOleg IvanovMar 23, 2015
Even though the film takes on a more overtly fictive aesthetic after he's kidnapped, Michel Houellebecq's understated presence lends the proceedings a factual quality throughout. Read full review
70
The New York TimesManohla DargisMar 24, 2015
A divertingly eccentric, often comically absurd movie. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen DaltonMar 24, 2015
An inspired comic thriller. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasMar 24, 2015
This genuine curio gets surprising mileage from Houellebecq’s deft, self-effacing performance at the center of a lively comic ensemble. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyMar 25, 2015
This is pretty much the opposite of a contemporary American comedy: rather than broad, The Kidnapping of Michel Houllebecq is an exemplary example of narrow. Read full review
60
Time OutDave CalhounMar 26, 2015
Here, absurdity is piled on absurdity for broadly comic effect: The kidnappers seem aimless, Houellebecq is fairly unbothered, and the world is, presumably, unmoved. Scrappy in style and surely improvised, the film is a lightweight literary in-joke, amusing enough. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMar 24, 2015
The character of Houellebecq implicitly understands that this is just a transaction, and doesn’t take it personally. It’s too bad that, like so much of the movie, this germ of satire is never developed past the point of premise. Read full review
50
The DissolveNoel MurrayMar 24, 2015
At first, the movie is offbeat enough to be entertaining anyway; but like the title character, it quickly outstays its welcome. Read full review
More From This Movie

64 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 72 The Sheep Detectives
5 63 Normal
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL