FUNNY GAMES (1997)

DATE: 2/9/2008  FIRST VIEWING

WHERE: DVD from Netflix.  At home, alone.

After having missed the free screening at Cinematheque, and meaning to see this for a long time, I finally sat down to watch it.  My only other direct exposure to M. Haneke was Cache, which was great, and totally messes with your mind.  So, I thought I knew what I was getting into…

THE GOOD:  director’s complete mastery of story and theme…and audience manipulation; the golf ball

THE BAD:  the feeling in my stomach for pretty much the entire movie

THE WONKY:  “Paul”’s loooong skinny legs; the first wink

I actually tried to watch this the night before, got to the title screen, where the opera music is suddenly crushed by the screaming metal music, all while the family continues to smile in the background.  I was instantly put into a state of uneasiness, where I knew I was had and was going to be completely affected by whatever I was going to see.  Well,
it got to late, and I had to turn it off…so I started it the next morning.  That break and restart didn’t do anything to reduce my initial response.  With the screaming title screen it was back…the little tiny knot in my stomach.

I was curious to how this would go.  The UW cinematheque had just started a Michael Haneke series, the first film of which was Funny Games, which I was unfortunately out of town for.  Kent Williams in the Isthmus newspaper had a little write up about the series, and about Haneke, which was nice.  Except for the fact that he went on to spoil a lot of the twists and shocks in a lot of movies, but most notably Funny Games.  So, right there I knew how it was going to end, one of the crazy 4th wall breaking post-modern twists, pretty much none of it took me by surprise.  Now it should be said, I have been getting better about needing to not know things up front.  It used to be that I couldn’t watch, or at least had trouble enjoying stuff if I knew too much about it. And yeah, going into something fresh can often be best…you have more honest reactions that aren’t somehow altered by expectation or prior interpretations or “how great” something is supposed to be.  I like being surprised or caught up in a movie…but I am working on getting past that.  That being said…”damn you Kent Williams!!!”  the over analysis in the piece wasn’t necessary, really, and frankly, would have been off putting if I hadn’t already been familiar with Haneke. But that is beside the point…the movie…

This movie grabs you and does what it wants with you.  Or I guess I should say that the director does.  This is definitely a mastery of the media to not only tell a story but to explore multiple themes, to manipulate and probe the audience.  The exploration of what the audience expects and demands is near brilliant.  Haneke is constantly forcing the
viewer to ask “why am I watching this? What do I want?  Am I to blame for what is being put in front of me?  Do I have a responsibility here???”  It very consciously and actively made me uncomfortable…and not just for the way that seemingly senseless or motiveless violence and torture is portrayed here using this poor family, but in the way that I
was pulled in…shocked and disgusted, but continued to watch…I am rooting for the family, but in that, I become a champion for some sort of violence…and isn’t that what I am disgusted by in the first place???

There is a lot going on here, obviously, but the constant clashes of peace vs chaos, high class vs “lower” class, young vs old, exploitation vs storytelling…this movie is just so complex, and forces the audience to be a part of the story…doesn’t let you off the hook ever.  The money scenes, are obviously the rewinding of the story, the first fourth
wall break, the incredibly long shot of the family after the first of them is shot, which becomes nearly unbearable, and, the golf ball rolling into frame to mark the return of Peter and Paul.

I loved watching it, and it really challenged me.  It is incredibly well made and Haneke is in complete control.  I can’t go so far as to use the word “enjoy” when talking about watching this film…but maybe I am just guilty about it…because somewhere deep down…I do….

I am pretty excited for the remake coming this spring, starring Tim Roth and Naomi Watts, 2 fearless actors (oh, and how amazing was the actress that played the mom???) and to see what Haneke does.  Even if it is just a re-tooling with new actors for American audiences, I think that will be ok.  It will still probably kick me in the gut.

7 out of 10