This movie might be based on the real kidnapping in 1978, but it fits perfectly our murky times. Greed without limits and boundaries produced a whole new species of semi sociopaths. Some of the most savvy and successful people in high business have morality of a Corsican thug. Perhaps they possess a tad more polish and fashion sense, but not much more. Mr. Graff, the victim of this heinous crime doesn't invoke much sympathy. He is vain, cruel and deeply immoral. Exactly what power executive needs. As soon his real nature comes out in press, his business "friends" turn their back on him. It is ironic that the only remotely kind character is one of the kidnappers. Possibly the one assigned the good cop role. Nevertheless this wealthy, affluent world encased in marble and gold, seems empty and void of any real felling. Nothing comes for free in this world, above all money and privilege.

The players, the family, the business men, the politicians, the kidnappers, the police, the solicitor and of course, the victim. All with agendas, all seeking resolution and some seeking personal gain. Was the kidnapping the sole motivation? Was the avarice and greed of the business associates a prime motive? Were the family really the ideal family unit?Ans, none of the questions were answered. The wife's disdain for the apartment, the police motivation for showing it to her, all contribute to an ending that seeks more answers.The collapse of the kidnapping, Stan's business position, the police case and the kidnappers' demands. If it was his own doing would the "calypso" note have appeared? For the French, the affairs of the heart are common place. the younger daughter's manner through out the episode. Did the family love the man or the riches and life style? The complex but seemingly simple plot lines gave way to a multitude of questions and who would most benefit from the escapade? Who was responsible?

RAPT is more an experience than a film. It is based on the true story of the 1978 kidnapping of French industrialist Edouard-Jean Empain, a millionaire playboy who is abducted and held for ransom for 60 days. Though it is a very fine thriller of the kidnapping/ransom genre this film is far more than that. It is an exploration of the lives of men of wealth who allow their moneyed status to be able to buy anything, behave in any way they wish, and trample lives of family and friends in the process. Is it a pretty picture to follow? No, certainly not, but it is a revealing fact that a crime of kidnapping can be secondary to a life of greed and consumption of power and money that feeds into lives such as the main character of this film and the governmental agencies to respond differently to these moneyed moguls.Stanislaff Graff (Yvan Attal, in a mesmerizing role) is the wealthy industrialist married to the beautiful and wise Françoise (Anne Consigny), and also has a lover. He is kidnapped brutally from his limousine on the eve of his visit to China as part of the entourage of the French president. The kidnappers treat Graff cruelly, keeping him blindfolded and tied in a tiny tent in a dungeon of a basement: they demand a fifty million euro ransom. As an acct of proving their serious plot, they cut off one of his fingers. What follows is a terrifying sparring match between kidnappers, police and the board of the company of which Graff is the director. The main question for the board: is a human life worth more than fifty million euros? Will they be able to get that amount of money together in time anyway? While they decide this he degenerates physically and mentally in imprisonment. After sixty days Graff is released to a world now cognizant of his secret life of gambling and escapades and secret apartments that the press dredges up, revelations that are especially painful for his wife. Paying his ransom won't bury his secrets.This film was written and directed by Lucas Belvaux who presents his story with more emphasis on subterfuge and the psychological aspects of the affair that may make the film seem slow moving (125 minutes) but at film's end we realize that the true crime is not so much that of the kidnap/ransom but the abuse of power and money when so many in the world are suffering from homelessness and hunger and foreclosures etc. The drama is significantly heightened by the work of cinematographer Pierre Milon and the moody musical score by Riccardo Del Fra. This is a demanding film but an important one, and the acting of everyone in the large cast is on the highest level - especially the stunning performances by Yvan Attal and Anne Consigny. Grady Harp

Stanislas is a man born with luck: rich in a rich country, beautiful wife and family, CEO of his family company, chauffeur, lives in a Parisian Palace. And yet, just one false step and he ends up kidnapped, humiliated, one finger cut off, beaten, starved, and most important, devoid of all power. We learn he led a double life, lovers from different countries, an apartment he used frequently, hunting trips and... game debts. Big debts. Does the kidnapping owe to his debtors? Or is it somebody from his own circle, wanting his post? Was it a self-kidnapping, as a means to erase his debts? As hypothesis multiply, doubts flourish in his own company and family circle, and issues start to come up to the surface.Well filmed, the contrast between "civilized" rich man's life and the gritty and humiliating treatment of the kidnappers is what stroke me most of this film. How easy it is to slip from one world to the next. It happens in the best of families, in the first world too.My favourite character is S.'s politically incorrect mum, Marjorie (elegant Françoise Fabian), usually saying what everybody thinks. Maître Walser is also fine. Françoise and her grouchy daughters are correctly hateful. You may like red setters (his dog's breed) a bit more now :).Good ending.Fellow IMDb reviewer "JRlock" wrote it well: "is not easy to capture both the sympathy and contempt of the viewer in the same movie, but he did here". And Chris Knipp's insights, like how Stanislas' freedom may be illusory, how this may be a film about solitude, or what the French title sounds like, have to be read from his own bright review to be enjoyed.Not easy watching, as you probably know already, but enlightening.