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Film review: Natascha Kampusch’s eight years in captivity – distilled into 111 minutes of cinematic brutality in 3096 Days

Austrian schoolgirl was abducted in vienna in 1998 and held for eight years in a cellar before she escaped in august 2006, article bookmarked.

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The ordeal Natascha Kampusch suffered at the hands of her captor, Wolfgang Priklopil, is almost unspeakable in its depravity.

The Austrian schoolgirl was abducted in Vienna in 1998 and held for eight years in a cellar before she escaped in August 2006. She was only 10 when she was taken. Now her story has been made into a film, whose title reflects the time she spent in captivity: 3096 Days.

Ruth Thoma and the late Bernd Eichinger’s production condenses Natascha’s hell down to a mere 111 minutes. They are 111 minutes of almost unmitigated cruelty, violence, sexual abuse and misery. Almost as soon as the film opens, you can’t wait for it to be over. Only towards the end does the Kampusch saga begin to offer up the odd ray of hope, as it becomes clear that Natascha’s kidnapper has become almost as dependent on her as she has on him. Bound to him with cable ties after being raped, she tellingly says to her captor: “You are tied to me, as much as I am tied to you.” It is this awareness which finally gives Natascha the courage to flee all of a sudden, one hot August afternoon almost seven years ago.

The film opens just months before her escape in the snow-covered mountains of Austria. Priklopil, the sexually warped, unemployed communications technician who takes her captive, has by this time become so confident about his relationship with her that he takes her on a skiing trip.

It is in a ski school lavatory that Natascha tries to escape, approaching a woman and telling her she has been kidnapped – but the woman turns out to be a Russian who doesn’t understand German. The escape attempt goes nowhere, but here Natascha’s determination to break away becomes all the more compelling. “It was clear from the start that only one person would survive and it was going to be me, not him,” she tells us in a voiceover.

The action then flashes back to March 1998 when Natascha, aged only ten, is snatched off the street by Priklopil and bundled screaming into the back of his Mercedes van.

Driven to her kidnapper’s petit bourgeois suburban home on the outskirts of Vienna, she is thrown into his underground prison – a windowless soundproof cell built beneath a car inspection pit in his garage. It is the beginning of eight years of cruelty, sexual abuse and misery. Priklopil begins by starving his victim – the actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who plays Natascha as an adolescent, is so thin that she resembles an Auschwitz survivor. When Natascha beings to menstruate, we see Priklopil beside himself with rage because her blood has dirtied the tiles in her cell. Soon afterwards the rapes begin.

It’s not a movie that makes you want to be sick – as metaphorically sickening as the subject is – but it is relentless in its dramatisation of the degradation that was inflicted on Natascha. The escape, when it comes, is a godsend; Priklopil then throws himself under an express train.

While there is little suspense, given how well the case is known, it is the outstanding performances from Campbell-Hughes and Amelia Pidgeon, who plays the younger Natascha, which really make the film a success.

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Thankfully it is not over dramatised, being very factual and not layering the scenes with chilling music, but you do feel that what plays out is Kampusch exorcising her demons. “It stirred up a lot of things all over again,” the real Natascha Kampusch said after seeing the film this week. “I was taken back to what I experienced. It was a strain, but it was also a relief.”

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3096 days true story explained (everything the natascha kampusch movie leaves out).

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10 Best True Crime Movies Ranked

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• In real life, Natascha's abduction led to a massive search for her, including searching over 700 white minivans in the area.
• The film leaves out the darker aspects of Natascha's relationship with her parents, who were divorced at the time of her kidnapping.
• While initially treated kindly by her captor, Natascha still suffered greatly in captivity, and her relationship with her kidnapper remains complex.

This article contains mentions of suicide, self-harm, and sexual assault.

3096 Days is a movie based on the real-life kidnapping of Austrian citizen Natascha Kampusch by Wolfgang Přiklopil. On March 2, 1998, 10-year-old Natascha was walking alone to school in Vienna. She never made it. Witness reports and a large search resulted in the conclusion that Natascha had been kidnapped and her whereabouts were unknown. Eight years later, Natascha escaped her imprisonment to the world's shock, as they had given her up for lost, and she was finally able to tell her story in her autobiography 3,096 Days in 2010. The book served as the source material for the subsequent 2013 film.

The film is directed by German-American filmmaker Sherry Hormann, and was her late husband Michael Ballhaus', famed cinematographer of Goodfellas and Broadcast News , last project. 3096 Days is a dramatic retelling of Natascha Kampusch's kidnapping, life in captivity, and eventual escape. The film stars Antonia Campbell-Hughes as Natascha (with Amelia Pidgeon briefly as the young Natascha) and Thure Lindhardt as Wolfgang Přiklopil. It's a harrowing and tensely acted movie with claustrophobic filmmaking that forces viewers into the confined space of Natascha's captivity. The film is generally true to life, but there are some parts of the tragic story left out.

The best true-crime movies perfectly blend reality with fiction, and these films are particularly effective at that.

There Was A Massive Search For Natascha

In 3096 Days , Natascha is abducted early in the film and the movie quickly moves into her captivity. Little is shown about the immediate aftermath of her abduction and audiences are left to wonder how thoroughly authorities searched for the young girl. The reality is that Natascha's abduction led to a massive search for her soon after it was discovered that she had disappeared. A witness said that they had seen Natascha being dragged into a white minivan . This led to over 700 white minivans in the area being searched.

Disturbingly, Přiklopil's van matched the description and was investigated, but obviously, he was cleared (via Web Archive ). Every owner of a van was questioned but Přiklopil was able to disguise his involvement to the police. His home was 20 kilometers east of Vienna and investigators did not think Natascha would have been moved so far and therefore neglected to search the property.

3096 Days is not currently available to stream online.

Natascha's Relationship With Her Parents Was Difficult

There is a subplot in 3096 that begins with Natascha and her mother Brigitta (Trine Dyrholm) getting into an argument the morning of her kidnapping, and the film implies that the fight is the reason Natascha decided to walk that day. Throughout the course of 3096 Days , the story flips to Brigitta as she experiences extreme guilt for allowing her daughter to leave the home alone. At the end of the film, Natascha's mother and father are beside themselves with happiness when she returns.

However, 3096 Days leaves out some of the darker aspects of Natascha's relationship with her parents. Far from their fight being a one-off argument, Natascha did not get along with either her mother or her father, who were divorced at the time of the kidnapping. In an interview Natascha gave with The Guardian , it is revealed that " Her divorced parents would slap and insult her. By the age of 10 she was a compulsive eater, depressed and lonely ." Hormann may have thought this part of Natascha's story too grim for an already dire tale and excluded it from the narrative. Despite this, Natascha is quick to point out that her mother was not a tyrant:

Still, she adds, she hopes 3,096 Days will dispel the impression people have "that my mother was a very brutal person and that I had a better time of it in the dungeon." However hard her mother was, she was nothing like Priklopil.

Přiklopil Did Not Harm Natascha For The First Few Years

While the 3096 Days shows Přiklopil immediately physically and psychologically abusing Natascha after capturing her, the truth is a little less straightforward. There is no doubt that Natascha was kept against her will and suffered greatly at the hands of her captor, but Natascha said that she was actually treated kindly for the first few years in captivity. In her book, Natascha talks about how she regularly ate meals with Přiklopil and received expensive toys and gifts from her captor.

Though on the surface, this could be construed as kindness, it does nothing to exonerate Přiklopil for his abduction and brutal treatment of Natascha. Holding someone against their own will is abuse enough and all the minor kindnesses in the world would not have made up for her predicament. In fact, it could be argued these acts were a form of psychological torture themselves, serving only to confuse and disorient the young girl.

Natascha Did Not Attempt To Escape During The Ski Trip

In a pivotal scene in 3096 Days , Přiklopil takes Natascha on a ski trip, a sign of his waning caution in guarding her. In the film, Natascha escapes to a bathroom and tries to beg another woman to help her. However, the woman does not speak Austrian, and Natascha is unable to make herself understood. Přiklopil discovers Natascha in this attempt and beats her mercilessly as punishment. Natascha and Přiklopil did go on that ski trip, but she explains that there was no chance of escape during their "vacation" (via The Telegraph ).

Natascha Has Complicated Feelings About Her Kidnapper And Captivity

3096 Days ends with Natascha's escape from Přiklopil, her reunion with her parents, and the news that Přiklopil took his own life by standing in front of a train. What the film doesn't go into is the confusing and distressing aftermath of Natascha's ordeal. The girl remained silent for some time after her escape and when she finally did speak, she insisted she wasn't a victim and instead tried to explain the complex relationship she shared with her captor. Some reporters and viewers considered this Stockholm Syndrome while others accused Natascha of sympathizing with Přiklopil .

At a time when she needed peace and support, Natascha received intense scrutiny and accusations about her character. It's true that her reaction to her captivity was unexpected. Allegedly, she cried when she heard the news that Přiklopil had taken his life, and she purchased his home in the hopes that people would not destroy the place she had essentially grown up in. Natascha is clear, however, that she understands she suffered greatly at Přiklopil's hands, but she also is consistent in explaining that she spent a significant portion of her life with the man. Despite the abuse, some sort of attachment or relationship inevitably formed between the two.

Where Natascha Kampusch Is Now

Natascha has not been afraid to tell her story after escaping the horrible nightmare of Přiklopil's home. She has written two books about her experience, 3096 Days and 10 Years of Freedom . She continues to write, and was briefly a television personality on the Austria TV channel, PULS 4, but had to leave that role due to cyberbullying (via Good To ). She wrote about this experience in a third book in 2019, Cyberneider (Cyberjealous) . 3096 Days is a fairly accurate look at Natascha's captivity as told by the victim, but the post-abduction struggles are an important aspect of her experience.

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Directed by Sherry Hormann

The story of Natasha Kampusch

A young Austrian girl is kidnapped and held in captivity for eight years. Based on the real-life case of Natascha Kampusch.

Antonia Campbell-Hughes Thure Lindhardt Trine Dyrholm Amelia Pidgeon Dearbhla Molloy Roeland Wiesnekker Ellen Schwiers Erni Mangold Sebastian Weber Angelina Noa Michael Grimm Heike Koslowski Ulla Geiger Arthur Streiling Thomas Loibl

Director Director

Sherry Hormann

Producer Producer

Martin Moszkowicz

Writers Writers

Bernd Eichinger Peter Reichard

Casting Casting

Cinematography cinematography.

Michael Ballhaus

Production Design Production Design

Bernd Lepel

Composer Composer

Martin Todsharow

Constantin Film Deutscher Filmförderfonds ARD Degeto NDR FFF Bayern FFA BR

Releases by Date

21 feb 2013, 27 feb 2013, 28 feb 2013, 25 jul 2013, 19 sep 2013, 28 oct 2013, releases by country.

• Theatrical MA15+
• Theatrical 18
• Theatrical 15
• Theatrical 16

111 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by peonsies ★★½ 4

got this title confused with 365 days please don’t be like me

Review by Cavy van Wyk ★ 3

Disgusting more than anything else. Awful screenplay. Should have showed more of her family's struggle and the outside world instead of focusing on making a shocking film. I wonder how much of the finer details inside that house which are revealed in this film are actually true. But most of all I'm curious how the kidnapper got so rich whilst practically doing nothing but abusing a young girl.

Awful screenplay. From the looks of the end-credit scene it looks like the screenplay was adapted from a dropped screenplay. Why am I not surprised then.

Natascha Kampusch didn't suffer for 8 years for this shit.

Review by atoll ★½

the title didn’t lie,, it really felt like 3096 days to watch this

Review by Esteban Gonzalez ★½ 2

"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…

Review by shahinah

was it really necessary for her to be shirtless so much 🤢

Review by sofia ★★★★★ 4

i hate men ❤️

Review by Morgan ★★★½

super disturbing, especially because it’s all true

Review by Levi ½

Oh fuck off

A woman did not suffer for 8 years in real life just for this boring ass movie to be made about her.

A tragic real-life story turned into a film that does it a complete injustice. I had more fun reading the Wikipedia article about this case than I did actually watching the film.

Something like Room does it better in every way. Plus that film did the smart thing in not focusing on the capture/imprisonment completely. This film does the opposite and it gets old super quick, cuz we're shown no emotion from like the public or those who investigated this case, or even the fuckin girl's own family, so it's completely void of all the…

Review by aly11 ★★½ 1

Never trust a white man in a white van

Review by Lilz ★

The screenplay is shockingly bad and there was a lack of any kind of emotional content for a film of this nature. Even the ending had no sort of climax it all just felt like the same speed all the way through. The only thing that hit me was how easy it was for him to snatch her up - I don’t think people realise how simple it is to be gone with now trace which is terrifying, even if the film didn’t nail showing it.

Review by Lucy Alice 🌿 ★★★★½

I was absorbed into this film right from the very start. 

What a riveting & highly unnerving film about a  girl who was kidnapped for 8 years. What scares me the most is, it's true. This took place in this physical world of ours. Chilling to think about, terrifying to realise that there are mentally unstable people like this out there. Living amongst us. Masked. The acting was superb. I put this film on just thinking it sounded good, not expecting it to be so well done! I feel moved by this film, it's left something inside me. 

" It was clear, only one of us would survive, and in the end, it was me, not him."

Review by michael Bailey ★

The only good piece of acting was from the young girl who acted in the first stage of the kidnapping, I thought she was really strong and moving. 

Why the fuck everyone speaking perfect English when it's set in a village off of  Vienna. That shit is patronising.

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Is 3096 Days Based on a True Story?

‘3096 Days’ is a 2013 German film that tells the harrowing tale of a young girl who is kidnapped at the age of 10. Starring as the lead is Irish actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes, who has donned gritty roles in the past in ‘Lotus Eaters’ and ‘The Other Side of Sleep.’ Campbell-Hughes essays the role of the young girl in the movie who, after being kidnapped at such a tender age, is kept imprisoned by her kidnapper for 8 years before she is finally able to escape. Despite this being an unthinkable ordeal for a child to bear, parts of the story do ring true as such crimes are not unheard of in real life. We decided to dig around and see whether ‘3096 Days’ is based on a true story or not. Here’s what we found.

Yes, ‘3096 Days’ is based on a true story. The movie is based on the book ‘3096 Tage’ (3096 days) by Natascha Kampusch, in which she details her kidnapping whilst on her way to school. Natascha was just 10 at the time and went on to spend the next 8 years in captivity. A few years after her escape, she penned her experience of being kidnapped in the book. A major reason for her to note the experience down in her own words was to ensure that the narrative of the ordeal stayed true to her experience, and was not lost amidst the numerous interpretations and speculations of the crime that abounded after her story came to light.

Natascha was kidnapped from the Donaustadt district of Vienna on the morning of March 2, 1998, and according to eyewitnesses, was taken away in a white van. A massive investigation and hunt were subsequently launched, with hundreds of vans being examined in and around Vienna. Ironically enough, even the van used by her kidnapper was examined but the police, satisfied with his explanation and alibi, did not question him further.

Natascha was kidnapped by Wolfgang Priklopil, who lived in the wealthy neighborhood of Strasshof an der Nordbahn. He kept her locked up in a room that, by Natascha’s own account, had to be accessed through a trapdoor in the garage, down some stairs, and through an opening in a hollowed-out concrete wall hidden behind a cupboard. Not only would it take an hour to get inside, but the room itself was tiny and soundproof. So well concealed was the setup that even though Priklopil had frequent visitors — his mother and a best friend amongst others — no one suspected that he had a young girl imprisoned under his house.

One of the things the public found hard to understand was Natascha’s sympathy for her kidnapper. Despite describing him as a “criminal,” she admitted feeling sorry for him and vehemently denied that it was because of Stockholm Syndrome. She said , “I find it very natural that you would adapt yourself to identify with your kidnapper. Especially if you spend a great deal of time with that person. It’s about empathy, communication. Looking for normality within the framework of a crime is not a syndrome. It is a survival strategy.”

Although the survivor initially chose to stay silent about the sexual aspect of their relationship, she did reveal, on her 25th birthday, that she was raped by her captor. As is unfortunately expected, she was also regularly assaulted by Priklopil and was kept as a domestic slave. After the first few years, she was allowed up into the house and there are reports of her being seen in the garden as well. However, she was always under threat from her kidnapper and had to go back to her “cell” at night. Natascha also described sharing a bed with Priklopil on the nights she was made to sleep in the house, and how she was fastened to his wrists and tied to the bed as well.

Natascha finally escaped on August 23, 2006, while she was vacuuming Priklopil’s car and he went inside to attend to a phone call. She ran down the street and alerted one of the neighbors about her identity, resulting in the police arriving and taking her into custody. They also examined the room she was imprisoned in, where they found her passport which helped confirm her identity. Priklopil, upon being tipped off that the police were now after him, committed suicide by jumping in front of an oncoming train.

So rigorous was actress Campbell-Hughes’ preparation for the role of Natascha that in 2012, during the filming of ‘3096 Days,’ concerns arose about her drastic weight loss. But she wanted to relay the harrowing conditions that Natascha faced as a mere teenager. Campbell-Hughes went on to elaborate that because of how similar the set was to the actual dungeon where Natascha was imprisoned, the former had suffered from a broken toe, a fractured rib, a torn Achilles tendon, and various cuts and bruises over the course of filming.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Natascha Kampusch (@n.kampusch)

Upon the release of the film, Natascha said , “Yes, I did recognize myself, although the reality was even worse. But one can’t really show that in the cinema, since it wasn’t supposed to be a horror film.” Evidently, the makers of the film took growing pains to ensure that unnecessary cinematic liberties were not taken. After all, there are absolutely no words that can underscore the sheer trauma of what Natascha went through. While she has strived to build a better life for herself, the film sheds light on a very real and very barbaric incident, that is, unfortunately, not all that uncommon in today’s world.

Read More: Where To Stream 3096 Days?

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‘3096 Days’: Learn the horrific true crime story that inspired the film

Imagine being in prison for eight years. That’s 3096 days. Days where you are locked away from the world, forced to do what you must in order to survive at the hands of a madman. These 3096 days were the reality of Natascha Kampusch: a never-ending cycle of which she felt no way out. Until, miraculously, she was, in fact, able to escape her captor.

Kampusch’s story is one of survival, one of a young girl forced to do what she must, and one of someone who has overcome a truly horrific experience. She would write about her experience and her story would inspire the 2013 movie, 3096 Days , which is a fictionalized retelling of her captivity. Here’s everything that you need to know about Kampusch’s story.

Natascha Kampusch’s story, unfortunately, is one that will sound like a familiar scenario to many people the world over. A young girl walks alone on a street. A white van pulls up beside her. And then both the van & girl disappear. It’s a horrifying scenario that had parents trying to warn their children about “stranger danger” for years. It’s the same scenario that happened to Natascha Kampusch. 

A man named Wolfgang Přiklopil, who was a communications technician, snatched her off the street as Kampusch was headed on a five-minute walk home. For the next 3096 days, he held her captive. Kampusch thought that she would be able to escape her abductor quickly, asking him questions about his shoe size, noting anything identifiable, but, unfortunately, her chance for escape will not come until years later.

3096 days in captivity

Přiklopil brought Kampusch to his home in the town of Strasshof, which is 15 miles north of where he abducted Kampusch in Vienna, Austria. Unfortunately for Kampusch, Přiklopil did not kidnap her without a plan. He had made a tiny, windowless, soundproofed room beneath his garage. He made it so watertight that it took an hour to access it.

Kampusch probably could have been saved sooner if police took witness testimony seriously. Someone reported seeing Přiklopil’s van, but police dismissed it, thinking that Přiklopil didn’t look like a monster. Meanwhile, in captivity, Kampusch did what she could to survive. She regressed psychologically in order to protect herself asking Přiklopil to tuck her in bed and read her stories. 

Přiklopil, however, believed himself to be an Egyptian god. He made Kampusch call him “Maestro” and “My Lord.” When Kampusch grew older, he started beating her, denied her food, forced her to clean his home half-naked, and kept her isolated in the pitch black. The details of the sexual component of her abuse, Kampusch has kept to herself. Kampusch attempted suicide multiple times, desperate for an escape. 

It took Kampusch years to escape. She always looked for opportunities, even when Přiklopil took her out in public, but she was too afraid to make a move. As her 18th birthday approached, however, she prepared herself to confront her abductor. She said to Přiklopil, “[Y]ou can’t force me to stay with you. I am my own person with my own needs. This situation must come to an end.”

A few weeks after telling Přiklopil this, Kampusch saw her chance to escape from her captor after 3096 days. She escaped from Přiklopil’s home and ran. Přiklopil, rather than risking arrest & jail, killed himself by laying down in front of an oncoming train. Before he committed suicide, he confessed, “I am a kidnapper and a rapist”. 

Following her escape, Kampusch has written three books on her experiences. One was made into the movie 3096 Days . Her most recent book discusses online bullying of which she has become a target. Seriously? Hasn’t she been through enough? Either way, she appears to be living her life. 

When not talking and writing about pop culture (especially superheroes or any show with a paranormal bent), freelance writer Bec Heim is usually tackling her mountain of books, writing scripts or stories, or listening to podcasts.

[email protected]

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• A young Austrian girl is kidnapped and held in captivity for eight years. Based on the factual case of Natascha Kampusch.
• 10-year-old Austrian girl Natascha Kampusch was kidnapped on her way to school on March 3, 1998. She spent 8 1/2 years under strict captivity by her kidnapper, and managed to survive one of the cruelest experiences a child should never have. Based on real-life events. — Bulma PunkRocker

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• 3096 Days Ending Explained
• UPDATED: September 19, 2023

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“3096 Days” Ending Explained: A Gripping Tale of Survival and Resilience

Based on the real-life story of Natascha Kampusch, “3096 Days” is a haunting and deeply emotional film that delves into the harrowing experience of a young girl who was kidnapped and held captive for over eight years. Directed by Sherry Hormann, this German drama explores the psychological and physical toll that such an ordeal can have on an individual. As the film reaches its conclusion, viewers are left with a mix of emotions and questions about the protagonist’s journey towards freedom.

The ending of “3096 Days” is both poignant and thought-provoking. After enduring years of abuse and confinement, Natascha Kampusch (played by Antonia Campbell-Hughes) finally manages to escape from her captor, Wolfgang Priklopil (played by Thure Lindhardt). The scene where she breaks free from her prison is filled with tension and suspense, as viewers are on the edge of their seats, hoping for her safe escape.

However, what makes the ending truly impactful is the aftermath of Natascha’s escape. As she emerges into the outside world, she realizes that her ordeal is far from over. The media frenzy surrounding her case becomes overwhelming, with journalists hounding her for interviews and details about her captivity. Natascha’s struggle to adjust to life outside captivity is portrayed with raw authenticity, highlighting the long-lasting effects of trauma.

One crucial aspect of the ending is Natascha’s decision to confront her captor’s mother. In a powerful scene, she visits Priklopil’s mother in an attempt to understand why he did what he did. This encounter serves as a cathartic moment for Natascha, allowing her to find some closure and begin the healing process.

The film concludes with Natascha finding solace in writing a book about her experience, allowing her to reclaim her narrative and share her story with the world. This ending is bittersweet, as it showcases Natascha’s resilience and determination to move forward despite the unimaginable horrors she endured.

The ending of “3096 Days” raises important questions about the nature of survival and the complexities of recovery. It explores themes of resilience, forgiveness, and the power of storytelling. By shedding light on Natascha Kampusch’s story, the film serves as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the importance of empathy and understanding.

In conclusion, the ending of “3096 Days” leaves a lasting impact on viewers. It is a testament to the indomitable spirit of those who have survived unimaginable circumstances. The film’s exploration of trauma, recovery, and resilience makes it a powerful and thought-provoking watch.

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3096 Days (2013)

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How To Watch 3096 Days

Based on the true story of Natascha Kampusch, a 10-year-old who was kidnapped and kept hostage for eight years until she escaped, German drama "3096 Days" is a harrowing and painfully realistic movie about abuse and control. It was also the last project of screenwriter Bernd Eichinger, as well as the final feature of " Goodfellas " cinematographer Michael Ballhaus.

Lately, the film has found a second life years after its release, thanks to "Days" becoming a trend on TikTok, with users filming themselves watching it in horror, placing pop songs next to clips, and paying tribute with the hashtag #nataschakampusch . Clearly, the movie struck a chord with younger viewers sympathetic to Kampusch's plight.

Thanks to the film's lack of theatrical and media release in the States when it first premiered, it missed the chance to connect with American viewers. But if you'd like to experience "3096 Days" for yourself, here's how you can watch the movie.

3096 Days is available to physically purchase on Amazon

"3096 Days" isn't currently available to stream anywhere in the United States, though it is available in other countries. Unfortunately, the film is also not available to rent via any of the streaming services either, though it used to be on Google Play and Itunes.

Currently, the best way to watch "3096 Days" is to buy a Blu-Ray copy of the film from Amazon. Two imported versions are available: one restricted to Region A, which includes the United States, and a region-free copy. The latter typically costs a bit less than the Region A version, but you may find different results depending on the seller/vendor. Be careful to check which editions of the movie will work with your Blu-Ray player, though both versions on Amazon should work with a player built for the United States. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that any of the DVD editions work in the United States.

If you're curious about the truth behind the dramatized film, a short documentary, "Natascha Krampusch: The Whole Story", featuring interviews with Natascha Krampusch herself, is currently streaming on Netflix .

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A young Austrian girl is kidnapped and held in captivity for eight years. Based on the real-life case of Natascha Kampusch.

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February 21, 2013,

Sherry Hormann

Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Thure Lindhardt, Trine Dyrholm, Amelia Pidgeon, Dearbhla Molloy, Roeland Wiesnekker

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"Ghostlight," which focuses on a construction worker drawn into a production of "Romeo and Juliet," is a drama about traumatized people healing themselves with art. It's messy in the way that life is messy. It's one of those movies that simultaneously feels too long and not long enough. But there's a purity and earnestness to what it's doing that's increasingly unusual in American independent cinema. 

Co-directed by the Chicago-based filmmaking team of Kerry O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson (O'Sullivan wrote the script), the story focuses on a family played by an actual family of working actors. The father, Dan ( Keith Kupferer ), is a construction worker. He lives in a suburban neighborhood with his wife, Sharon ( Tara Mallen ), and their teenage daughter, Daisy ( Katherine Mallen Kupferer ). This is a troubled family. You can see that long before the movie reveals all the pieces of their trouble and lets you examine them. 

Some viewers will be irritated by one of the qualities I found most intriguing about "Ghostlight": you don't really know what this family's "deal" is, so to speak, until fairly deep in the film (I won't say what it is; suffice to say it's an unimaginable loss). For quite a long time, you can't figure out why they're all acting the way they are. Dan is sullen and a bit of a space case at work. He has a hair-trigger temper that suddenly erupts through his personal fog and causes severe problems. Daisy also has a temper and is being disciplined for an outburst at her school. She uses profanity in settings where nobody uses profanity and doesn't care that a taboo is being violated. Sharon is a dutiful, attentive wife and mom who seems to be hanging on by a thread. In due time, you get little details about what happened to them, and the more you learn, the more you start to feel the weight of it yourself.

Dolly De Leon, a breakout in " Triangle of Sadness ," plays Rita, an actress in the aforementioned local troupe who gets to know Dan because his crew is doing loud construction near the theater and ends up being his entry point into a very low-budget community theater production of "Romeo and Juliet." Even though Rita is in her 50s, she's playing Juliet, and when the much younger actor playing Romeo complains that it feels weird, Dan, who stumbled into the group, gets recruited to fill in. 

This is, unfortunately, the source of some of the film's weakest moments. Dan is embarrassed both by getting involved in theater (he's a strong-silent macho guy, for the most part) but also because it's a romantic role that involves kissing (there's a wonderful bit where the troupe's director Lanora, played by Hanna Dworkin , apologizes for not being able to afford an intimacy coordinator, then guides the two actors through some basic intimacy exercises for the stage). It's not so much the fact of Dan keeping his secret life a secret as the way that they expose it, which would've been a "big laugh" moment on a sitcom, and that doesn't make a lot of sense when you think about who's doing the discovering and what's in the room when the moment happens. There is a sitcom tendency to a few scenes, many of them involving Daisy, who's played by the younger Kupferer in a way that answers the question, "What if Joan Cusack and Nicolas Cage had a baby?" I.e., there's an innate bigness to her acting even when she's small.

But that also turns out to be the wellspring of many of the film's delights. Daisy is a Force-of-Nature type character, barreling through everyone's life like a petite tornado. Not only do you get used to her after a while, but you begin to appreciate that she (and the actress inhabiting her) never come at a scene or moment in quite the way you might expect. She's so intense that even when her character is silently observing another character, waiting for her turn to speak, or just being part of a bigger moment, the eye is naturally drawn to her, because you know she's thinking of five or six things at once.

The apple must not have fallen far from the tree(s): both the elder Kupferer and Mallen unpack previously hidden layers in Mom and Dad, and avoid obvious reactions and readings. Mallen has a strong scene near the end where Sharon chastises her husband for playing the hero while she's doing the family's grunt work that will ring uncomfortably true for many viewers. Daddy Kupferer, meanwhile, plays sadness in a way that's refreshingly realistic. You understand why nobody around Dan understands the depths of his sorrow or can recognize the symptoms of a man who's constantly on the edge of either cratering or exploding. 

There were a fair number of English and Australian comedy-dramas made twenty to thirty years ago that explored the liberating and transformative power of art in the lives of people who never thought of themselves as creative, including " The Full Monty " and " Brassed Off ." Patrick Wang's recent masterpieces "A Bread Factory Part 1" and "A Bread Factory Part 2" explored similar material in a more formally audacious way. "Ghostlight" is an honorable entry in that tradition. The movie has the good sense to let the actors articulate the meanings themselves by inhabiting the characters. It shows us their emotions rather than weighing everybody down with exposition or thematically reductive speeches that distill profundity into a bumper sticker or a meme. 

"Ghostlight" doesn't capitalize on all the rich possibilities of its premise. It would not surprise me to learn that there's a three- or four-hour cut in the filmmakers' draft folders. But I don't think it's lesser for failing to do everything it theoretically could have done. It seems to have been made intuitively, and it's definitely onto something in how it expresses itself. It tests your patience early but becomes powerful as it goes along. The last thirty minutes hit hard, partly because you can't precisely map all the different meanings and associations it calls up. You just have to let it be the thing it's turning into, then make the decision to bond with it and let its emotions become yours.  

Some of the elements that might initially seem odd become the source of great strength for the movie as drama, like the fact that the troupe has cast two middle-aged people as Romeo and Juliet (which might get older viewers to thinking about how the mind doesn't age in the way that the body does) or the very idea that Romeo and Juliet would be the Shakespeare play that would connect this family to their grief in a way that would help them process it. 

Turns out this was the right play for the family and the film that follows them. One of the many mysterious and wonderful things about art is that under the right circumstances, and thanks to the right group of talented people, you can become immersed in a piece that outwardly has zero connection to the details of your own life and suddenly realize, "Oh, my God—that's me up there."

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Ghostlight (2024)

115 minutes

Keith Kupferer as Dan Mueller

Katherine Mallen Kupferer as Daisy

Tara Mallen as Sharon

Dolly de Leon as Rita

Hanna Dworkin as Lanora

Dexter Zollicoffer as Greg

• Alex Thompson
• Kelly O’Sullivan

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‘ultraman: rising’ review: a famous japanese franchise gets a heartwarming american reboot.

The Netflix animated feature, directed by Shannon Tindle and co-directed by John Aoshima, offers a new take on a classic Japanese series created in the 1960s.

By Jordan Mintzer

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For millions of Japanese viewers as well as countless fans across the globe, the Ultraman franchise, pitting a giant superhero against giant kaiju creatures of all shapes and breeds, has been a popular staple since it was first launched as a TV series in the 1960s.

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Much of that material won’t seem new, especially for anyone who’s already seen a Godzilla flick, or one of the Pacific Rim movies, or Big Hero 6 . But writer-director Shannon Tindle and co-writer Marc Haimes, who wrote the script for Kubo and the Two Strings , do their best to enhance it: Not only do they add a brand new subplot involving the baseball career of Kenji “Ken” Sato aka Ultraman (voiced by Christopher Sean), but they introduce a real emotional arc about the hero’s traumatic past, as well as an extremely cute fatherhood narrative where Ultraman is suddenly forced to raise an orphaned child.

That child, Emi (Julia Harriman), is no ordinary baby but a pint-sized kaiju dragon, which means she’s about the size of a garbage truck. Pink and cuddly, and with the ability to destroy a state-of-the-art mansion in one temper tantrum, Emi is picked up by Ultraman after a duel with Gigatron, one of many creatures the hero battles as a professional monster-fighter — a job he does while also holding down a career as a professional baller.

If the Spider-Man motto is “with great power comes great responsibility,” the Ultraman motto, at least as the American reboot attempts to explain it, is about using “power to bring balance.” It’s a very Zen-like approach to the superhero métier that’s illustrated by Ken trying to juggle two taxing jobs while also raising the adorable but untamable Emi, who gets more and more unwieldy as he grows older, projectile vomiting and pooping with extreme kaiju force.

While the original Ultraman shows were memorable for their epic live-action battles between monster and man (well, a massive man powered by alien forces and supreme technology), Ultraman: Rising will likely touch viewers, especially ages 10 and under, for its story of a young man trying to be a good dad while also reconnecting with his own estranged father, in what ultimate becomes a parable about responsible parenting.

That doesn’t mean Tindle, who co-directed the film with John Aoshima ( Maya and the Three , DuckTales ), doesn’t deliver the goods when it comes to the genre’s requisite city fights, including an epic attack above the Tokyo Dome while Ken is standing at home plate. The filmmakers also offer up a decent new villain in the form of Dr. Onda (Keone Young), an evil scientist who heads up the KDF (Kaiju Defense Forces) and who was traumatized by his family’s death during a monster attack. Fatherhood, yet again.

Either way, the fight is likely to keep going as long as there are giant monsters roaming about and brave superheroes to stand up to them — and IP that can regenerate itself for decades to come.  

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'Inside Out 2' review: The battle between Joy, Anxiety feels very real in profound sequel

For teens, those who aren't yet teens, and anyone who was once a teen, the Pixar sequel “Inside Out 2” hits like an amusing, profound wrecking ball.

The original animated 2015 comedy “Inside Out” took audiences into young girl Riley’s complex mind and showcased a bevy of colorful emotions trying to keep it together for the kid’s sake, crafting an uncannily relatable movie in the process. Directed by Kelsey Mann, the next chapter (★★★½ out of four; rated PG; in theaters Friday) grows up alongside the newly minted teen and imagines the internal struggle, for all of us, when anxiety takes control.

The first "Inside Out" ended with Riley turning 12, and the sequel catches up with her (now voiced by Kensington Tallman) – as well as her core emotions Joy ( Amy Poehler ), Anger (Lewis Black), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Tony Hale) and Disgust (Liza Lapira) – a year later. Riley has gone through a growth spurt, got braces (Disgust must have loved that day) and two besties, plus is a hockey star.

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The high school coach (Yvette Nicole Brown) sees her play and invites her to a skills camp – do well there and she could be playing as a freshman beside her super-cool idol Val Ortiz (Lilimar). The night before, however, Riley’s mind is thrown into disarray when Joy and Co. notice the red “puberty” button flashing and a demolition crew arrives to make way for new emotions. With frizzy hair and big plans to change things around, Anxiety ( Maya Hawke ) is the leader of this bunch that also includes precocious Envy (Ayo Edebiri), disinterested Ennui (Adele Exarchopoulos) – or, as she calls herself, “the boredom” – and painfully shy Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser).

The major friction within the first movie – Joy needing to find a way to deal with Sadness – seems like small potatoes compared to a battle over Riley's entire belief system. As the girl is forced to choose between hanging with her friends or making new ones like Val, Anxiety pulls a coup, ditching the conflicted youngster's Sense of Self and exiling Joy's old emotions to the back of Riley’s mind with a mountain of bad memories.

“Inside Out 2” frontloads the funny bits and then wallops you in the final act, which ambitiously depicts the desperate hopelessness when anxiety has a hold and won’t let go. (“I don’t know how to stop Anxiety," Joy says, one of the truest things you’ll ever hear in an animated fantasy.)

The middle is where it loses focus, as Joy’s group goes on a mission to set Riley right before it’s too late. The original movie took a similar tack but did it better, and the sequel misses a real chance to flesh out the intriguing new emotions more. Aside from Anxiety, a truly inspired Disney antagonist, they feel more like side characters than Anger, Fear, Disgust and Sadness did in the first outing.

The way these movies artfully create a connection between real life and a fantastical inner existence is still top-notch. Every parent of a tween or teenager will feel seen via a construction sign that reads “Puberty is messy” and get a kick out of Mount Crushmore, part of a revamped Imagination Land. And while there’s no Bing Bong around this time, the introduction of preschool cartoon canine Bloofy (Ron Funches) and the scene-stealing Nostalgia (June Squibb) showcase that signature “Inside Out” cleverness in its personalities.

Pixar has rightfully taken knocks for sequels and prequels that don’t hold up to the beloved originals. Recent films like “Turning Red,” “Luca” and “Soul” have the novel spark that's missing from, say, “Monsters University,” “Cars 3” and “Lightyear.” But “Inside Out 2” is one of the better revisits in the studio’s history because of how well it knows its audience.

Who hasn't felt anxiety getting the better of joy or a natural connection between sadness and embarrassment? With empathy, hope and a heap of metaphors, it's a matured "Inside Out" that still understands the wonders and wrinkles of being a kid.

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‘Firebrand’ Review: Placid Queen

Top-shelf actors and authentic Tudor table-setting fail to quicken this glumly unfocused take on the exploits of Henry VIII’s last wife, Katherine Parr.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

Not until I watched “Firebrand” did I think the sight of Jude Law’s naked behind could cause me to recoil rather than rejoice. Playing a late-career Henry VIII, Law is all rutting buttocks and barely mobile bulk, an obese, paranoid ruler with a weeping leg wound where maggots wriggle in ecstatic close-up. Law (and his director, Karim Aïnouz) might be laying it on thick, but his grotesque tyrant is the only thing lifting this dreary, ahistoric drama out of its narrative doldrums.

Adapted from Elizabeth Fremantle’s 2012 novel, “Queen’s Gambit,” “Firebrand” seeks to highlight Henry’s sixth and last wife, Katherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), the only spouse to outlive the infamous king. Studious and devout, Parr conceals her Protestant sympathies while arguing in favor of women’s education and an English-language Bible. Her clandestine support for the poet and Protestant preacher Anne Askew (Erin Doherty), however, almost proves fatal when she’s accused of heresy by an oily bishop (Simon Russell Beale).

Unfolding in and around Whitehall Palace in 1547, the movie is lavishly, oppressively costumed, the actors imprisoned by fabric and a screenplay that plays fast and loose with the historical record. A plummy voice-over describes Henry’s kingdom as “blood-soaked” and “plague-ridden,” though we see little of either plasma or pustules. What we see is a queen whose downcast demeanor speaks less of a firebrand than of a wife placating a husband who isn’t above spousal decapitation if a younger, saucier option should wiggle past.

That Parr deserves a spotlight is easily argued. But the woman who believed herself chosen by God to influence the King is, despite Vikander’s skills, ill-served by this meandering, glum picture. So much so that, in just two brief appearances, Doherty’s vivid portrayal of the reformist Askew makes us wonder whom the film’s title is really memorializing.

Firebrand Rated R for spousal abuse and celebrity skin. Running time: 2 hours. In theaters.

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New emotions emerge in 'Inside Out 2' — including nostalgia for the original film

Justin Chang

Joy and Anxiety (voiced by Amy Poehler and Maya Hawke) meet in Riley's head in Inside Out 2. Disney/Pixar hide caption

As Inside Out 2 gets under way, things are looking up for Riley, the hockey-loving kid who moved with her parents from Minnesota to San Francisco in the first Inside Out . She’s adjusted to her new life, school and friends, and her five personified emotions — who share the high-tech headquarters of her brain — have learned to work together in relative harmony. Joy, voiced by Amy Poehler , is still mostly in charge, but now she and Sadness — the incomparable Phyllis Smith — make a great team, along with the other key emotions, Anger, Fear and Disgust.

But now Riley is 13, which means pimples, growth spurts and a much more complicated emotional life. The director Kelsey Mann, taking over for the first film’s Pete Docter , cleverly dramatizes the onset of puberty as a huge disruption for Joy and Company, who don’t know why their usual routine is suddenly causing Riley to undergo wild mood swings. It turns out, a new emotion has joined headquarters: Anxiety, voiced by a terrific Maya Hawke.

The 'Inside Out' movies give kids an 'emotional vocabulary.' Therapists love that

Anxiety has brought along her own team of emotions. They’re basically the three E’s: Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment, voiced by Ayo Edebiri , Adèle Exarchopoulos and Paul Walter Hauser. Some of this stretches conceptual credibility: Surely this isn’t the first time in her life that Riley has experienced some of those feelings. But that’s part of the whimsical pleasure of the Inside Out films: It’s fun to feel your own brain arguing with how it’s represented. It’s also fun to see new regions of Riley’s mental landscape, like the giant ravine that fuels her contemptuous side — naturally, it’s called the Sar-chasm.

The story kicks into gear when Riley is sent to an elite three-day hockey camp, where she’s forced to make some tough decisions, like whether to stick with her two closest friends or hang out with the cool older kids. As the pressure on Riley mounts and the competition gets more cutthroat, it’s Anxiety who emerges as the movie’s villain.

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Hawke does a great job of making the character’s polite bundle-of-nerves routine a little more annoying — and sinister — in every scene. Anxiety basically engineers a hostile takeover of Riley’s mind, banishing Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust to the outskirts of consciousness, and setting out to mold Riley into a more successful version of herself. What she’s unwittingly doing is making Riley more ambitious and conniving.

Inside Out 2 , in other words, is something of an anti-stress movie, where unchecked drivenness can destroy a person’s true sense of self. It’s hard to argue with that, but it’s also hard not to push back a little. This isn’t the first Pixar movie that’s tried to teach us to lighten up and let things go, a lesson that dates as far back as the first Toy Story. But it’s always struck me as a bit rich coming from Pixar, given the hyper-ambition and perfectionism that have long defined the studio’s brand.

From The 'Inside Out,' A Lively Look Inside A Young Mind

Fortunately, there is a better, deeper message at the heart of Inside Out 2 , that encourages us to take a more expansive view of ourselves — to acknowledge that we all have the capacity for good and bad. As in the first movie, the goal is to strive for balance, embrace complexity and learn to be OK with imperfection.

I’m trying to do that myself with Inside Out 2 , which, despite its many pleasures, is a pretty imperfect movie. It isn’t nearly as emotionally overwhelming as its predecessor, but how could it be? The first Inside Out was a piercing lament for childhood’s end, with Joy and Sadness’ frenemy dynamic as its irresistible core.

Now, Riley’s older and maturing, and it’s natural that her latest adventure should hit us differently. But there are also some bewildering choices here that suggest the story could have used, well, a rethink. There’s one overlong sequence, in which Joy and her friends encounter memories of old cartoon and video-game characters buried deep in Riley’s mind; it’s a cheap gag, and it almost pulled me out of the movie entirely. And there’s a recurring joke, involving Riley’s sense of Nostalgia, that strikes a weirdly sour note. Ironically, it made me feel a little nostalgic myself — for the days when Pixar would have known to leave a bit like that on the cutting-room floor.

Review: ‘Ghostlight’ makes an expressive, subtle argument for the healing power of theater

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The films of Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson are simple but deeply felt portraits of people trying to do right by themselves and finding profound connections with others and within themselves along the way.

The Chicago-based filmmakers and life partners made their feature debut in 2020 with “Saint Frances,” written by and starring O’Sullivan, directed by Thompson, about an aimless 30-something finding a friend in the 6-year-old she’s nannying. Their second feature is “Ghostlight,” which they co-directed from a script by O’Sullivan, a similarly small-scale indie drama with a huge heart that fearlessly tackles the kind of big feelings that can seem impossible to manage.

As it’s a family affair behind the camera, it is in front of the lens too. O’Sullivan long had Chicago theater actor Keith Kupferer in mind for the lead role of Dan, a construction worker who stumbles into a community theater production of “Romeo and Juliet” during a time of personal turmoil, and Kupferer so happens to have an actor daughter, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, and a partner, Tara Mallen, a stalwart of the Chicago acting scene, who slot perfectly into the roles of Dan’s fiery daughter Daisy and wife Sharon. With such close-knit family ties making up the production, “Ghostlight” is a film of uncommon intimacy, a reliable feature of O’Sullivan and Thompson’s work.

The pair makes films refreshingly populated by characters that feel like real people navigating real situations. The circumstances of “Ghostlight” are in some sense heightened, and perhaps a bit too coincidentally serendipitous, but then again, so is life sometimes.

The emotional mystery of “Ghostlight” is best left for the viewer to discover, as Dan’s story unfolds like the petals of a blooming flower opening up to reveal a devastated inner core. At the outset, he’s attempting to manage a period of significant stress, struggling to hold together his family, including his troubled daughter and long-suffering wife. One afternoon, Rita ( “Triangle of Sadness” standout Dolly de Leon), an actor from a local community theater, witnesses Dan blowing up on a driver during his road-work job, and ushers him inside him to participate in a read-through of “Romeo and Juliet.” “What is this?” he asks. “Your salvation,” she replies.

Making community theater, one often has to beg, borrow and steal to cast a show, so it’s not out of the question that Rita might cajole a blue-collar worker like Dan into a rehearsal. What’s remarkable is that he comes back, reluctantly joining in on the improv games, guided meditation and script work. These quirky people prove to be an escape for him, strangers from his community that allow him to exist in a space where he can be someone else for an hour or two. He needs it more than he lets on, and slowly, O’Sullivan’s script reveals that the particularities of “Romeo and Juliet” strike home for Dan in a way he never anticipated.

Kupferer is immediately compelling onscreen. It feels a bit odd to call his performance a breakthrough, considering his long theater and television career; he’s appeared in films by Christopher Nolan, Michael Mann and Steve McQueen. But this kind of lead film role is new territory for him. Mallen Kupferer is also a discovery, a firecracker who also conveys more nuanced teenage attitude, her Daisy bossing her repressed dad around, demanding he meet her on her level of explosive emotion.

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De Leon, herself a mainstay of the local theater scene in her native Philippines, fits into this Midwestern troupe easily, and delivers a beguiling and feisty performance as a serious New York actor who finds herself back in Chicago playing with the locals onstage. She sees in Dan a kindred spirit: someone who needs a hand, pulling him out of his rut and delivering the shake he requires to gain some perspective and insight. Her character is bit of a magical device to serve the story, but de Leon imbues the enchanting Rita with so much life and unpredictable energy.

With an understated but tactile beauty, O’Sullivan and Thompson create cinematic worlds in which you simply want to linger, populated with recognizable people with familiar problems, but who greet every challenge with just a bit more empathy, grace, laughter and creativity than we might see in everyday life. They allow us to witness people moving through emotional obstacles, cracking open hardened hearts to let their humanity spill forth freely in waves of grief, embarrassment, anger, love and forgiveness.

This is a beautifully life-affirming fable about the power of art to heal, but really, it’s the people making the art that do the work. “Ghostlight” is a stunning and incredibly moving tribute to that process.

Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.

'Ghostlight'

Rating: R, for language Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes Playing: Opens Friday, June 14 at Landmark Theatres Sunset, West Los Angeles

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