In Funny Games U.S., George (Tim Roth) asks his kidnappers: “Why are you doing this?” The response he gets is “What would you like to hear?” Director Michael Haneke knows exactly why he is making films and knows exactly what people would like to see and hear in a movie theatre. And he thinks we are wrong.
The professor/filmmaker who inspired a blog-a-thon after Code Inconuu, has a singular vision and is intent on sharing it with his audience. Whether it is the above mentioned film, Funny Games (either version) or Caché; he is onto something.
Why is this so? Because he focuses on the primary, most pervasive, and ever-present problem modern civilized society has; psychological violence. Witness the use of utmost politeness by the two boys from Funny Games; it’s merely an attempt to hide their sarcasm, cruelty. Like we do every day.
There’s a dead give-away when the couple from Funny Games are listening to classical music and trying to guess which composer it is. This comes off as rather pedantic; Haneke does not want us to empathize with them, he wants us to know we are the bad guys.
Notice the wonder that is Code Inconuu’s notorious first continuous moving shot, wherein the main protagonists and their interconnectedness are presented. The economy and elegance is equal to none. Our cosmopolitan society is laid bare in minutes. Babel and Crash pale in comparison; they stand as cheap knock-offs of a carefully crafted painting.
Caché presents us, in one scene, with a similar vignette of racial tension in Paris as seen, more than once, in Code Inconuu; who does he wants us to root for? Why, the white people of course; he knows us all too well.
On this film, the director makes the audience acknowledge something else about themselves; we are all peeping toms, whether we like it or not. Haneke knows his sociology; Pierre Bourdieu would be proud. Once again, Binoche's perfomance adds some humanity to Haneke's otherwise cold films.
Haneke is willing to forsake music scores, quick cuts, and suspension of disbelief, all for the purpose of educating. Much like Todd Haynes, his films are more theses on subjects than films. This is precisely why his work is so important; he believes in the power of film other than mere, sometimes lightly enlightening, entertainment. His ambition is not merely to deconstruct film.
Haneke, often referred to as the "conscience" of European cinema, is finally getting the unequivocal recognition he deserves. He was awarded the Palme d'Or for best film at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival for The White Ribbon.
A special shout-out to an actress whose work I began to detest after her promising breakthrough in Mulholland Drive; Naomi Watts. To my mind, she should get a free pass after having produced Funny Games U.S.
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