Review of Benny's Video (1992) by Brian L — 16 Feb 2008

[i]Benny's Video.

[/i]dir. Michael Haneke.

[i]Benny's Video [/i]eschews easy explanations in its depictions of a quick-fire murder committed by a youth in a moment fraught with possibilities.

Benny (Arno Frisch) is a bored youth obsessed with making and watching videos. He prefers violent films and keeps a camera pointed outside the window of his parent's home. His particular favorite is a scene he's filmed of a pig getting shot in the head with a slaughtering gun. He rewinds the tape and plays the moment of death repeatedly in slow motion. Coming out of the video store he approaches a girl (Ingrid Stassner) that comes there every day to watch videos from outside. She goes with him to his place and proceeds to show her the pig video. Then he shows her the gun and tells her to shoot him with it. She refuses and he turns the gun on her. Then he pulls the trigger and she falls. We see her fall and attempt to crawl away in the monitor. Benny reloads and off camera he shoots her twice more before her screams subside. Eventually Benny shows his parent's the video and they attempt to come up with a solution. They decide that Benny and his Mom will travel to Egypt while Dad stays behind to deal with the girl's body.

The film demonstrates a basic breakdown of the family unit that is commenced the instance the father and mother are faced with the decision on how to handle their son's behavior. Their actions are facilitated mostly to keep their reputations as they are horrified that others might learn of what went on that night. Throughout the film there is a distance placed between the viewer and what is shown on the screen. Much of what is seen comes from the video camera or the television and it's not particularly easy to get into the Benny's head to determine a motivation for his act. This is intentional because Haneke determined not to offer any easy solutions in his film. Instead, we merely observe Benny going through the motions of the everyday not offering a single hint of emotion that he's even effected by the crime he has committed. Indeed, there is a certain coldness to Benny's movements that suggest a fundamental incapability of realizing the severity of his actions. It seems clear that the killing of the girl was a spur-of-the-moment decision with no actual intention behind it. Perhaps, the film suggests, it might have been accidental if we take into consideration the possible (again, not revealed) motivations that were at play the instance he pulled the trigger. Regardless, he panicked and shot her two more times in order to shut her up. This suggests either cold-blooded murder, an act of mercy, or somewhere in between.

The relationship between Benny and his parents is also rather cold. Benny seems to be beyond their understanding even before the murder. He lives in his own world that is mostly observed and rarely participated in. Benny isn't particularly active and spends all his free time watching or making videos. His world view is dictated through a screen and his concept of reality comes mostly from his massive video diet. Benny says he shot the girl because he just wanted to know what it is like. That's the only explanation he offers and it brings us no closer to an understanding. There is one scene where the mother breaks down in Egypt but that is essentially the only outburst of emotion over this crime.

Overall, this film appears to be making at least a cursory comment on the relationship between screen violence and actual violence. While it doesn't offer a direct connection, it is suggested through the principle character's cravings for simulated violence and then, his decision to take a life. Still, the film offers no motivation for the act and no restitution for the family of the victim. Ultimately, this film shows how simply a murder can be committed and how difficult it is to offer a legitimate explanation for such behavior. There are no convenient answers for terrible crimes and, according to the film's inherent logic, attempts to locate them are futile. Violence continues however we fallaciously attempt to understand it. The act of committing horrible act out of self-perceived hatred doesn't inform the killing of a child. There are as many motivations as there are people committing the crimes. Benny doesn't come to any conclusions about himself. He doesn't learn anything or grow in a determinable way. He simply drifts into new circumstances.