Review of Funny Games (1997) by Austin E — 21 Feb 2009
There were things I liked about this film, but I also am not sure I liked Haneke's very explicit manipulation of the audience. I'm not sure what "point" we are to get from this. In interviews he talks of this as the consumability of violence, as when we're happy that Susan Lothar's character kills Frank Giering's character.
He says, "people clap at a murder" - well, I'm not sure we're all pacifists. We might have been happy because we saw some semblance of justice, not because the guy was dead. And then, as it rewinds, you have to wonder whether Haneke just likes manipulating audiences.
Furthermore, you also have to wonder whether he realizes that we all know we're being manipulated - that's why we love stories and film, because they are things that make us feel a certain way, and expand our range of feeling.
I'm not sure if Haneke gets that (even if he's a master at doing just that!).
This review of Funny Games (1997) was written by Austin E on 21 Feb 2009.
Funny Games has generally received positive reviews.
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