Funny Games
Haneke’s self-referential and fourth wall breaking masterpiece, Funny Games might be said to manipulate audience expectation somewhat. A wealthy family move to their scenic summer home where they are randomly taken hostage and brutally tortured by a pair of sadistic young men- one of whom occasionally turning to address the audience, implicating us in their callous actions. In one scene, the wife manages to grab a gun and shoot one of her torturers, before his accomplice simply rewinds the scene, this time getting to the gun before her and punishing her for resisting. Deliberately frustrating and a credit to Haneke, the scene works because of our empathy for the victims. He shows us the ‘movie’ scenario, because this is what we want to see, only to snatch it away and leave us with the cruel reality of it all. No happy endings, please.
-> Benny’s Video
