Houellebecq - Les films DVD (6-disc box)

The box set contains all of Michel Houellebecq's works in the film medium; as a director, screenwriter, and more recently also as an actor.

Competition to the Death (1999)

Film adaptation of Michel Houellebecq's debut novel.

A disillusioned portrayal of the increasing competition people are subjected to – a competition that is not only about success in terms of finances or career, but also, to a large extent, about sexual success. The main character is a computer technician, but he is not convinced of the usefulness of technology. He plays his role in the organization, observing and describing the power games in the meeting rooms and the banalities at the coffee machines.Together with a colleague, Tisserand, he is sent around to companies in the countryside to install new software. During the trip, he studies Tisserand'sattempts to win love and sexual success. He witnesses his colleague's humiliation and finally finds himself forced to shatter his last illusions.mdash;—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Gracias por su visita (2005)

Feature-length interview with Michel Houellebecq directed by Céline Hecquet, interview by Sylvain Bourmeau.mdash;——————————————————————————————————————————-

The Elementary Particles (2006)

One fought to satisfy his desires, the other to eradicate them.

Based on the bestseller by Michel Houellebecq

Sexual frustration and self-destructiveness unite half-brothers Michael and Bruno, both of whom have been shaped by their relationship with their absent and liberated hippie mother. The introverted and scientifically brilliant Michaelgives up a prestigious job to resume his genetic research, but is unable to cope with emotional or physical relationships. However, a meeting with his childhood sweetheart Annabelle pushes him back into the human sphere. Literature teacher Bruno struggles withunfulfilled sexual fantasies that he tries to turn into reality while writing racial political pamphlets.

The Elementary Particles is based on author Michel Houellebecq's controversial breakthrough novel and won the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006, where Moritz Bleibtreu also won the award for best male lead. The supporting cast includes Franka Potente (Run Lola Run, The Bourne Identity), Christian Ulmen, and Nina Hoss (The White Masai).

WINNERS

Silver Bear

Berlin International Film Festival 2006

**** "Original and shocking" – SVT

"The humor is dark and the actors are very well chosen" – ELLE

"Absurdly humorous" – Slitz

"Sensitively acted" – Kulturnytt

"Deeply original" – Expressen

"Like Todd Solondz's 'Happiness'. A very moving story."– Ronny Svensson

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Refug (2008)

A FUTURISTIC VISION OF A MAN AND HIS CLONE. By recruiting a renowned scientist, they hope to create a new human race that can survive the existing one.p>

Twenty-five generations later, Daniel is the only human left on Earth, having survived all the disasters that have ravaged humanity. But his life is about to take a new turn after a number of mysterious messages on his computer reveal that he is not alone on Earth after all...

Directed by Michel Houellebecq, based on his futuristic novel.

OFFICIAL SELECTION – LOCARNO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

OFFICIAL SELECTION – STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

OFFICIAL SELECTION – BFI LONDON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

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The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq (2014)

WINNER OF THE 2014 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL – BEST SCREENPLAY!

In September 2011, the critically acclaimed and controversial French author Michel Houellebecq mysteriously disappeared in the middle of his tour for his new book ‘The Map and the Territory." Rumors began to spread that al-Qaeda or perhaps even aliens were behind the disappearance, and many of the author's opponents even expressed some relief that he was gone.p>

In this fictional documentary film, we learn how things "really" happened during the disappearance. Three tough guys carried Houellebecq (who plays himself) to a cottage in the countryside to save him from the daily stress of his life as an intellectual star. Wrestling, old cars, drinking parties, discussions, poetry readings, sex, and Polish sausages fill the days that follow. But what actually happened with the kidnapping itself? Is everything just peace and joy now? Who will pay the ransom?

THE CRITICS SAY:

“Gapskratt & underfundigt" – Aftonbladet

 &"Unpredictable, difficult to categorize in terms of genre, and also very entertaining" – Sydsvenska Dagbladet

 – Svenska Dagbladet

"Ticklingly entertaining" – Kulturnytt, SVT

“Smart film entertainment with many potent points” – Konstpretton

“Brilliant!” – Indiewire

”The most amazing thing is that even though you know it's not “for real,” it never feels like anything other than a really cozy and engaging documentary.." – The Guardian

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Near Death Experience (2015)

Paul works at a call center and is on the verge of complete burnout. So on Friday the 13th, he decideshe decides that it's time to take matters into his own hands, that is, to take his own life. He sets off on a long hike in the mountains to think through his life and his decision. A story about life, death, despair, hope, the boredom of modern society, and the bottomless abyss that can seem insurmountable to many people.Europe's most controversial author, and recently also an actor,nbsp;Michel Houellebecq plays the lead role as the world-weary Paul, directed by the duo Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern (The Last Mammoth, Not Dead), who also have supporting roles in the film.

"A fascinating journey" – The Hollywood Reporter

**** "Poetic, funny, and desperate –in total harmony with Houellebecq's own universe" – Le Monde

**** "Minimalist despite its macabre poetry and existential questions" – Métro

**** “This existential one-man show has incredible power!“ – Première

OFFICIAL SELECTION – VENICE FILM FESTIVAL 2014

Since 1998 and the success of Elementary Particles, Michel Houellebecq has been known worldwide

as an author. Over the years, however, he has always experimented with other art forms, with a clear

preference for film. In his twenties, he attended the L'École Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière film school and studied cinematography. At film school, he directed a couple of short films but then dropped out. In the early 2000s, he was offered the chance to direct a short film for Canal+ in a series with an erotic theme. The result was La Rivière (2001). a poetic

science fiction film with a very Houellebecqian vision of the future of mankind. However, it was not until 2008 that he was able to seriously develop his interest in film when, with a substantial budget, he adapted his novel Refug. La possibilité d'une île for the screen. Houellebecq did not compromisep>with his vision, and the result was a poetic and experimental film. Unfortunately, the film was both a commercial failure and totally panned by critics, and since then it has been difficult to get hold of.Michel Houellebecq has also made his mark on the music scene. In the late 1990s, he collaborated with Bertrand Burgalat on the album Présence Humaine (Tricatel), on which he reads his own lyrics to Burgalat's music. He has also collaborated with Jean-Louis Aubert on the album Les Parages du Vide. Again with his own lyrics, but this time it was not he himself but Aubert who performed them. His interest in photography also continued after film school. In 2001, he published the book Lanzarote, a double volume consisting of a collection of short stories and a book of photographs. At the end of 2014, he exhibited photographs in the exhibition "Before Landing" at Carré Baudoin in Paris. However, this exhibition was closed prematurely for security reasons after the attack on Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015. The reason

was fear of further attacks in the wake of the controversy surrounding Michel Houellebecq's novel

Soumission, which was released on the same day as the attacks took place.... and now

Houellebecq is an actor! In 2014, he was offered two leading roles in French films. The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq, directed by Guillaume Nicloux, has him playing himself in a dark comedy that touches on many of his favorite themes. In it, Houellebecq displays considerable comedic talent and a great deal of self-distance.

After The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq came Near Death Experience, in which Houellebecq

plays Paul, who sounds, thinks, and looks like a world-weary Michel Houellebecq. Directors

Gustave Kerven and Benoît Delépine have a habit of offering strong roles to strong

personalities, previously for example Gérard Depardieu in The Last Mammoth. Mammuth and

Benoit Poelvoorde in Not Dead, Le grand soir, and their collaboration with the author resulted in a

very successful road movie. Houellebecq recently expressed his joy and childish

continue to create films in which he continues his own highly unique artistic career!

• Language: French
• Subtitles: Swedish