Having followed media coverage regarding Miss Kampusch since 1998, I knew the story quite well.The movie focused completely on her -- and only her -- situation during eight and a half years of captivity. Since the movie is based on her autobiographical book "3096 Tage", we learn very little about the kidnapper's motives and his emotional world. Also, her father's sad story is completely omitted. This is probably also the case for the book, which I haven't read.But still, the movie didn't quite catch me. I felt no emotions whatsoever, neither for her nor for her kidnapper. Cold soberness.However, Antonia Campbell-Hughes performed excellently throughout the story, as did Thure Lindhardt. Light and photography was also excellent, adding to the matter-of- factness of the movie.

I had tracked the progress of this film from its initial stages after the release of the book to the ridiculous speculative casting; Kate Winslet and Scarlett Johansson, two actresses known for being voluptuous playing an emaciated young woman from about preadolescence to young adulthood? Yeah, right! No wonder the film took ages to get going. Unfortunately, it was also delayed because the initial director (Bernd Eichinger) passed away. Hoffman later took over the realms with Eichinger still listed as writer. This type of story was not suitable for maudlin Hollywood Oscar bait treatment and fortunately it didn't go there. It's probably a good thing it was an independent film with obscure indie actors which would help detract the potential glamorization of such a sad sad story.If you have read the book this film is based on, I would be surprised if you found the film equally insightful. It isn't. The film in spite of its natural limitations of time does not do enough to absorb Natascha's harrowing story. You're pretty much getting a clear-cut version of her ordeal but that's not surprising with most adaptations of real life stories, especially ones that have an important chronology as hers did. This monster robbed her of her youth, and you can't really translate that when you have a grown woman of 30 playing the young teenage version of her.Having said that, the acting was okay - nothing special. Hughes, to me at age 29-30 does look convincing as a younger person, not sure enough to pass for a young teenager but you will just have to suspend any disbelief. The set and locations I think are relatively well done. There are some scenes that were as I imagined them to be reading the book. The story does stretch the truth more than what Natascha herself was willing to reveal in her book but has implied outside of the book later on. The relationship between kidnapper and captive is very complex - probably not understandable to most people, thankfully. This movie does a predictably mediocre, yet mildly engaging way of portraying this type of relationship.To be honest, if I just watched the film without actual knowledge of the real-life events that occurred, I would have given it a lower score, but because of my personal interest in Natascha's story, I can't help but say I was interested in the film - to see a visual albeit fictitious representation of what "happened".

"Obey me! Obey me! Obey me!"3096 Days is based on the autobiographical book written by Natascha Kampusch, a young Austrian girl who was kidnapped when she was 10 and kept in a cell for over 8 years. The shocking event took place during the late 90's and the title of the film refers to the amount of days Natascha was held captive, so there is no spoiler here. The film was directed by Sherry Hormann (Desert Flower) and the screenplay adapted by Ruth Toma. The premise may sound interesting since this is an extraordinary story, but the truth of the matter is that the film failed to engage me. The film focuses on Natascha and how she struggled to break away from her chains, forgetting about the outside world (there are a few scenes with the mother, but we never get to see her desperation) and the police procedural to try to find her. Because of this the film focused entirely on Natascha's captivity which after a few minutes kind of felt repetitive because there wasn't much they could do with the story. We see the abuse she experiences and clearly her captor is a troubled and sick young man, but there isn't much more that the film has to say about this. Thirty minutes into the film you realize that it doesn't have anything more to offer and the story begins to drag so much you actually feel like you are held captive for years.The film opens with a scene at a local bar in Austria where a 10 year old girl named Natascha (Amelia Pidgeon) is falling asleep while her father (Roeland Wiesnekker) is having a few drinks. The next morning Natascha's mother (Trine Dyrholm) is trying to wake her up for school, but of course she has trouble doing so due to the late night her father put her through. Her mother realizes that her father has taken her to the bar again, but Natascha defends him and is slapped for doing so. Upset, Natascha walks out of her home and heads to school, but on her way there, she is kidnapped by a young man (Thure Lindhart) who hides her in a white van and takes her to a hidden cell under his home. For the next 8 years this will be Natascha's home. The film focuses on those early days and then it jumps forward in time to her teen years (played here by Antonia Campbell-Hughes) where she is abused. She is convinced that only one of them will survive, but she never loses hope that one day she will break free.The most positive note about this film is the impressive transformation that Antonia Campbell- Hughes went through to play Natascha. It was shocking to see her so thin and it allowed us to understand the true impact of the abuse she was receiving. It's just too bad she went through this physical transformation in such a bad film. She delivers a strong performance as well as Thure Lindhart, but the rest of the cast is forgotten. It's a shame that such a talented actress like Trine Dyrholm (In a Better World) is so underused. I believe that if the film gave us a better glimpse of the outside world and the struggle Natascha's parents were going through, it would have engaged the audience more. But since everything takes place almost entirely in captivity the film does get repetitive and dull at times. The story is devastating, but the film never made me feel that way really. Stick with the book and stay away from this movie.

The movie based on the true story of Austrian woman Natascha Kampusch. At the age of ten she was abducted by an unemployed young man called Wolfgang Priklopil and kept her in a secret cellar for the 8 long years. Warning, this movie is not suitable for everyone because the movie had many disturbing, nude scenes. It was harsh true but raw for a movie and I am happy they made this.It's easy to find the errors on the technical aspect and the flaws of the movie but when you think of it from the girl's perspective it is totally shocking and long incident that everyone never dreamt about. So there's no point in pointing the mistakes because you are not watching it for an entertaining but to know the bitter truth, right? Natascha Kampusch was a normal young Austrian girl, she did not try any heroic endeavoring during her captivity but her bravery attempt at the end of the movie made her free from the slavery. As you see the title you will come to know almost everything about the movie even the end twist as well not complicated as one you think but when you watch the movie it tells the way it really happened.As a kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil was a smarter and sharper enough. He read the girl's character and behaviour perfectly, he tried to give her freedom within the border he marked and also tortured her to make believe she's in his command. But his overconfident led him to the disaster from his perspective. In the end, good always wins over evil.Antonia Campbell-Hughes was excellent as Natascha Kampusch and so the little version of her. I heard that she lost lots of weight for the role, I guess it's her best performance till now from those I have seen.Remember you won't watch it for enjoy the moment, it was those movies like 'Trade' and 'Garden of the Night' that will remind you about the real pervert co-existed in our society. As per me it is a must see movie but you should keep it in your mind like I said it was a little disturbing for its adult contents.8/10