Hi, folks and welcome back. This is part 2 of Moviehooker's
Most Disturbing Movies Ever Made
For this video, I wanna take a look at an Austrian movie from 2011 and it's called, Michael
Michael was the directorial debut from casting director, Markus Schleinzer
Schleinzer basically worked with Michael Haneke, the legendary director
And Haneke obviously seen something in him and phoned him up and said, Markus
It's time you made a movie, you have three months to come up with an idea
And true enough, when those 3 months were up
They both sat down
And that, folks, is how this film, Michael was born
There's a very Haneke vibe to Michael, and I wouldn't have expected anything less
It's slow-moving, slow-building...and packs one HELL OF A PUNCH
It also deals with a very difficult subject that not many directors or actors would dare to go near
But as difficult as this subject is, I do believe it is an important one
Michael tells the story of an ordinary, boring, working-class man.
During the day, Michael sets off to his 9-to-5 Job
He pays his taxes, contributes to society But when Michael gets home, the shutters on all his windows close, the shutters on his door close
He creates a claustrophobic prison environment
He sets a table for two...
and unlocks his basement door
That's right, folks...
Michael is a kidnapper and paedophile
I don't want to go into the story too much in this one
But I will say that the abuse is NEVER seen in the film
Yes. it is there. 100% it is there
But we don't need to see that
And I whole-heartedly agree, I actually whole-heartedly agree
That our very own minds can create something way more disturbing than what could ever be put on screen
And that is 100% what we get with this movie
Schleinzer approaches the movie in a way that...
And, listen, I can completely understand how people would be disgusted at this portrayal of a sexual predator
But...to be disgusted I think that is the wrong way to view this film
Schleinzer does not try and humanise this man
Not only is Michael a paedo but he is also devoid of any emotion ...he is a sociopath. The Banality of Evil
Markus Schleinzer tries to show us that this predator
can live a perfectly functioning life, hold down some sort of social circles
But at the end of the day, no one knows what goes on when Micheal is behind closed doors
And, listen, I have watched it once and I won't watch it another time
But I still thought it was a fantastic film
It still stuck with me, and here we are today, I am still talking about it, it is still fresh in my mind
But the way that this story unfolds
We don't see this little kid. The kid was played by (a guy), a little boy called David Rauchenberger
So, hats off to that little kid for such an amazing, daring role at such a young age
And hats off to Michael Fuith for playing the paedophile
I am gonna say he was great..but he was...he was fantastic
And the way that Schleinzer explains this story. We never see
We never see Michael kidnap this kid...we never see that
But during the movie, you sort of get a glimpse into what might have happened as he tries to abduct a second child
And it just sends shivers down your spine
And another thing, what Michael thinks he is doing, he thinks it is normal
He thinks he is giving this kid a good life because he eats well, the kid is allowed to watch tv in the evenings
They sit on the couch together
it is truly disturbing
I told you all that I wanted to focus on bleak movies for my first set of films
Movies that made you feel that soul has been ripped out
And I do believe that Michael fits that bill
I also believe that the Banality of Evil to describe this guy in the movie
It was first penned by a reporter, reporting on the Nazi war trials about Eichman (Nazi war criminal)
Some guy who led a load of jews to the concentration camps
The reporter said, "this guy was not monstrous, he done monstrous stuff without knowing he was a monster". So...
That's basically the meaning behind Banality of Evil and the point that Markus Schleinzer tried to get across when writing a movie about such a difficult subject
Everybody, thank you so much for listening and check back really, really soon for Part 3
Part 3, I am going to focusing on a British movie by the director & writer Simon Rumley...check back soon
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Thanks again, guys, I hope you enjoyed this.