by Nick Ward
One of the most respected arthouse directors of all time, and a two-time winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Michael Haneke is a filmmaker that everyone should look into. Thinking of adjectives to describe his films, I can think of: raw, unflinching and pure. He is Austrian, and began making feature films at the age of 46, over 30 years ago. It’s hard to believe that he is currently 75 years old and still making the movies that he does. His most popular films are Amour (2012), The White Ribbon (2009) and Funny Games (1997, 2007) – and his latest film, Happy End (2017), is about to feature in the main competition at Sydney Film Festival after premiering at Cannes. I’ve seen almost all of his films and he is definitely one of my favourite directors.
In past Film In Revolt reviews, I’ve talked about Xavier Dolan and his films’ extreme stylisation; with upbeat soundtracks and vibrant colours. To imagine Haneke’s work – think of the complete opposite. Patiently edited, almost completely devoid of stylisation and only using diegetic sound (all music is seen onscreen i.e. a character playing a piano or turning on the radio); his films are not exactly ‘easy’ watches. Haneke is a surgeon when it comes to the production of his films, perfecting every last detail and not settling for anything but the best. I’ve literally seen behind the scenes footage of him spending 10 minutes arguing with Isabelle Huppert on the length of time that it takes her to drink a cup of tea. The long, static takes in his films are described by him as “room for contemplation”, rather than the usual fast paced cutting that we are used to these days.
Haneke searches for complete, almost fly-on-the-wall realism in all his work; stating that feature films are “24 lies per second”. Haneke avoids all sentimentality or glorification of violence – which he has previously accused other filmmakers like Tarantino for – and believes that it’s irresponsible to depict violence in any way other than the absolute truth. A good example of this philosophy on film is Funny Games.
Funny Games (1997 and 2007)
Funny Games is about two sadistic young men who hold a family captive in their home; torturing them and playing ‘games’ with them. While this might just sound like a straight-forward, run-of-the-mill horror film, it is actually a commentary on the way that violence is depicted in straight-forward, run- of-the-mill horror films. The violence is shockingly realistic and almost unbearable to watch; shot in long, static takes. In 1997, Haneke directed the original Austrian version of Funny Games and then ten years later, directed a shot-for-shot, identical remake of the same film, except set in America. This might sound opportunistic, but in fact, the original 1997 film was supposed to be American, but wasn’t, due to expenses. This is because Haneke believes that the film is much more important when critiquing the Western culture of film and violence. I’ve seen both versions and despite being almost identical in terms of shots, the American version is superior, in my opinion. The colour palette is a lot more chilling, the camera quality is less grainy and the performances are a lot better. Funny Games is designed to obliterate conventions and confuse the audience; take the opening credits, for example, where expectations are set up, and then the rug is pulled out beneath us. The first time I watched this opening scene, I almost burst out laughing. This is from the original 1997 version.
Amour (2012)
Funny Games is probably his least accessible film, given that it’s designed to mess with the audience and almost force them to turn it off (my mother left after the first act). Despite the bleakness of a lot of his films, Haneke does still manage to have a lot of range in the types of films he makes. Amour is his most successful film, winning the Palme D’Or at Cannes and Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. After a run of some of his darkest films, he made a film about an old couple struggling when the wife falls ill. A celebration of life, love and possibly Haneke’s own contemplation of death, Amour is absolutely gorgeous, heartbreaking and depressingly pure. Completely opposite to Funny Games, this is actually one of my mum’s favourite films which she often returns to. This is one of the only Michael Haneke films to not be driven by a specific political or social message, and is instead only focused on contemplating existence, mortality and relationships. This is probably the Michael Haneke film that I’d recommend someone to watch first.
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Isabelle Huppert may just be my favourite actress, and this performance is definitely up there as one of the greatest of all time. La Pianiste follows a troubled, self-destructive piano teacher, the relationship she has with her mother, and the affair she begins with one of her students. Most of the time spent watching the film is tossing up whether you root for her to succeed or not. Her character’s personality is completely hideous, yet she is so flawed and troubled that you can’t help but feel sorry for her. The problem that I have with a lot of music films is the accuracy of what is seen on screen versus what is actually being played. This film perfects these scenes, cementing Haneke’s talent and sincerity in his direction. As for the rest of the film, the writing is perfect, the shots are gorgeous and the editing is patient, yet satisfying.
Hidden (2005)
The final film that I’ll write about. Winner of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival’s Best Director Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of The Ecumenical Jury, this is, in my opinion, his most thrilling and tense film. Hidden follows a couple played by Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil, as they begin to receive illustrations of headless chickens and VHS tapes – camcorder footage of themselves from angles where they would’ve seen the person filming. To end this torture of being constantly surveyed, the husband must dig up his dark past. This film is really straight forward; that is until the final shot. The films last few seconds are what make it so thoroughly analysed and discussed by Roger Ebert and others who’ve seen it. Despite the film’s pacing, this film is tense and gripping from the opening shot until the credits roll.
I would recommend all of Michael Haneke’s films to everyone. I’ve left out some amazing films such as Benny’s Video, The White Ribbon and Code Unknown, which are equally as good as the films I’ve discussed. His films can be found on home video, Netflix and Amazon, and I urge you to watch some. There’s actually an amazing French (Region 2), Blu-Ray boxset of all his films on Amazon that I got for Christmas. Anyway, as I mentioned before, Amour is probably the best starting point, and a great introduction to his style. I can’t stress enough the importance of his career and I can’t wait to watch his latest release, Happy End and any other future films that he delivers.
