Michael (Michael Fuith) is an unremarkable insurance exec who secretly keeps a 10 year old called Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger) locked up in his cellar, where, after sharing meals and washing up duties, he subjects him to sexual abuse (which is implied, rather than shown). Featuring remarkably restrained performances from its great actors (first time director Schleinzer is Michael Haneke and Ulrich Seidl's casting director of choice), Michael shows how even evil can be incredibly banal - almost routine. An uneasy, brave look at a sinister subject.

5* "Brilliant and macabre... This film is not merely a chilling insight into the day-to-day banality of evil, but also an unbearably suspenseful and tense drama. I can't think of any other movie recently in which I have wanted so much to yell instructions at the screen..." Guardian

4* "Heart-stopping, mind-frazzling cinema." Telegraph

4* "There are no easy conclusions here - no explanations." Time Out

Head of Programme Mark Cosgrove will introduce the 20:30 screening of Michael on Wed 7 March and chair a post-screening discussion. Mark saw Michael last year at the Cannes Film Festival, here are some of his thoughts on this film which he will expand on at this post-sreening discussion:

From time to time a film comes along whose subject matter challenges your sensibilities. For me, the most recent example is Markus Schleinzer's Michael. It is one of the most disturbing and disquieting films I have ever seen. It is a very serious, formally rigorous and responsible film about a paedophile and the young child he holds captive in his basement. It is neither prurient nor sensational: rather, it is detached and dispassionate, creating a horrified claustrophobic outrage in the viewer. The director is Austrian and is reflecting on the recent real life cases in that country, in particular that of Natascha Kampusch. He has worked with Michael Haneke and that unnerving intensity of scrutiny that Haneke employs is evident in Schleinzer's film.

The critical opinion from Cannes where Michael premiered was that it was one of the strongest but also one of the most difficult films. What are we to take from watching it? I am still struggling with this - although I do share the critics' view that this is an important film. I would be interested in your opinion and will be hosting an event around it on Wed 7 March at 20:30.