justice authorizes Michel Houellebecq to view the “porn” film in which he played before its broadcast – Liberation

2023-05-16 16:55:08

Houellebecq, the “Submission” casedossier

The French novelist will be able to watch the film “Kirac 27” before its release, scheduled for May 26. The writer did not manage to ban the distribution of the film described as “porn”.

Not sure he’s eating popcorn in front of this canvas. On Tuesday May 16, a Dutch court ruled on appeal that French novelist Michel Houellebecq should be allowed to view “Kirac 27” “four weeks” before it is released to the general public. That’s all the 67-year-old writer was able to get in his battle against this Dutch film described as “porn”, in which he shot. Unfortunately for him, Houellebecq failed to obtain a ban on its distribution.

Scheduled for May 26, the broadcast of the film “Kirac 27” directed by the Dutch Stefan Ruitenbeek, using images of the world-famous French writer shot last year, must according to the court be postponed. On appeal, the Amsterdam court found the writer’s fears justified. Michel Houellebecq fears that the Dutch filmmaker will not respect part of the agreement defining “a game between reality and fiction”, a balance in which the film must create the illusion of erotic scenes with a double.

Indeed, the Court did not fail to point out the fact that Stefan Ruitenbeek declared in an interview granted to the news site Vice in February that the French writer was “really good in bed”. To the judges, the Dutch filmmaker rightly declared that he had “played between reality and fiction in the interview […] by exaggerating the performance” of the writer in bed to generate additional interest. But according to the judgment, the Court found that the director “presents in particular as a fact” that the writer “actually participated in the sex scenes”.

“Sensational Pictures”

The Court therefore ordered the Kirac collective to share the film with the writer “four weeks before its scheduled broadcast.” If Michel Houellebecq raises objections and the filmmaker refuses to adjust the film, he can go to court again. If he does not respect this judgment, the collective to which Stefan Ruitenbeek belongs will have to pay a fine of 25,000 euros. The judgment specifies that the trailer, in which the writer appeared bare-chested kissing a young woman in a bed, has already been withdrawn.

“There are not yet sufficient reasons to assume that the agreement was concluded by abuse of circumstances”, the Court ruled as the writer claimed he only signed the contract because he was depressed and drunk. According to the terms of the agreement, Stefan Ruitenbeek can use “all equipment” produced or obtained between November and December 2022, the judges acknowledged. But they nevertheless conceded that “it goes a long way, especially for sensational images that can harm the reputation» of the writer. At the end of March, a Dutch court rejected Michel Houellebecq’s requests. In February, the writer lost a similar lawsuit in a French court.