Funny Games (1997)
Austria; 108min
Crime, Drama, Thriller
Director: Michael Haneke
Writer: Michael Haneke
Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch

Different movies have different goals and Haneke's Funny Games is very special on this issue. 
The story is simple, rich family: father George, mother Anna, and their son George Jr., goes to vacation in their weekend cottage. Their social status is accentuated during the film through expensive car, large cottage, classic music, boat, golf, their rich friends etc. It's one of the ways in which Haneke attempts to give viewers a reason to justify suffer of this family during the film. Once we get familiar with this idyllic family, Paul and Peter enter the story. They are psychotic young men dressed entirely in white with white gloves that we notice at the beginning of the film in a neighboring house in a strange conversation with the owners. Interaction with family starts with innocent asking for egg by two of them that quickly turns into irritating farce after which Anna and George try to force the duo out of the house, but that attempt ends with George's broken leg and the torture begins.

Story continues with 'games' that psychotic duo 'plays' with family, like hide and seek with the body of a dead dog and the main 'game' is a bet with the family that none of them will survive the next 12 hours.Haneke's main goal is to make viewers reject violence in film industry that became main plot of entertainment. He tries to do that with putting the same senseless violence, that they enjoy on film, in a home of normal family and his desire is that the viewer stops watching the film before it ends. The main moment in which viewer should stop watching is scene after the first death which lasts for few minutes in which absolutely nothing happens, just shows the horror of violence and its consequences.
The film also serves as a kind of experiment in which Haneke is trying in various ways to give excuses for terror that the family goes through, and even in some moments one of young men looks into the camera, winks and speaks to the viewer with a sad statement that he is surely on the side of the victims.There's small chances that anyone would enjoy the story, which ultimately is the whole idea. The technical part on the other side is well done. Acting is also at a high level, especially from duo Giering-Frisch who embodies Peter and Paul. The objection goes to the failure to use the high-capacity Ulrich Mühe who plays George and spends most of the film lying on the floor. 
This is a special film with film as a main theme, specially the violence within it and in most of cases it fulfills it's purpose, at least in short terms.

 

Razni filmovi imaju različite ciljeve, Hanekeov Funny Games je po tom pitanju vrlo poseban.

Priča je jednostavna, bogata obitelj, otac Georg, majka Anna te sin Georg (mlađi), dolazi u svoju poveću vikendicu na odmor. Haneke njihov socijalni sloj izrazito ističe od samog početka, preko skupocijenog automobila, ogromne vikendice, klasične galzbe, broda, golfa, njihovih prijatelja pa do silne, u to doba napredne, tehnologije. To je jedan od načina na koji pokušava gledateljima dati razlog da opravdaju ono što se toj obitelji tijekom filma događa. Nakon što se gledatelji donekle upoznaju sa idiličnom obitelji u priču ulaze Paul i Peter. Psihotični mladići obučeni potpuno u bijelo sa bijelim rukavicama koje odmah na početku filma primjetimo u susjednoj kući u čudnom razgovoru sa tamošnjim ukučanima. Interkacija s obitelji počinje nevinim traženjem jaja od Anne koje se pretvori u iritantnu farsu na koju koje Anna i Georg odluče izbaciti dvojac iz kuće, no taj pokušaj završi Georgeovom slomljenom nogom te polako mučenje počinje.

Nastavak se svodi na 'igre' psihotičnog dvojca sa obitelji poput skrivača sa tijelom mrtvog psa, a vrhunac je oklada s obitelji da nitko od njih neće preživjeti sljedećih 12 sati.

Sad se vraćamo na posebnost cilja ovog filma. Hanekeov glavni cilj je zagađivanje nasilja filmskim gledateljima na način da to isto besmisleno nasilje u kojem uživaju na filmu dovede jednoj obitelji te mu je želja da gledatelj ne pogleda film do kraja. Ciljni trenutak je scena nakon prve smrti u filmu koja traje nekoliko minuta i u kojoj se apsolutno ništa ne dogodi, samo je prikazan užas nasilja i njegove posljedice.

Film također služi kao svojevrsni pokus u kojem Haneke na razne načine pokušava dati suluda opravdanja za teror koji obitelj prolazi, te se čak u pojedinim trenutcima jedan od mladića zagledava u kameru, namiguje te se tužno obraća gledatelju sa konstatacijom kako je on sigurno na strani žrtava.

Taj scenaristički dio će se rijetko kome svidjeti, što u konačnici i je poanta. Tehnički dio je s druge strane kvalitetno odrađen. Gluma je također na visokom nivou, posebno od dvojca Giering-Frisch koji utjelovljuje Petera i Paula. Zamjerka ide na neiskorištavanje velikog kapaciteta Ulricha Mühea koji u ulozi oca većinu filma proleži na podu.

Poseban film sa tematikom samog filma tj. nasilja u filmu, koji uglavnom, barem kratkoročno ispunjava svoju svrhu.