Anyone that's seen any of Haneke's work knows that he typically leans towards confrontational and controversial subject matter, and BENNY'S VIDEO is no different. This film seems to strike people differently and on many different levels, as much of Haneke's work does. I must say, that it is not quite what I was expecting based on what I had read about it, and can honestly say I was slightly disappointed as I was expecting an extremely dark and nihilistic film (and that's not quite what I got...) - but it is still a good film that will be of interest to those that "enjoy" more thought provoking and "dark" cinema...
Benny is a relatively average teenager, except for his penchant for watching and re-watching a homemade tape of the slaughter of a pig. He seems to be a relatively sociable child as he has friends that he hangs out with and doesn't seem to be particularly shy or reserved. He does rent a lot of videos and has a bunch of video equipment in his room - but this seems to be more of a serious hobby than an actual "obsession" for Benny. One day, he meets a girl around the same age outside the video store and invites her over to his family's apartment. His mother and father are out of town, so Benny hangs out with her, makes her some food, and shows her his pig-slaughter tape. When an "accident" in the apartment (which is inadvertently caught on Benny's video-camera)leaves the girl dead - Benny is at a loss for how to handle the situation - and decides to play the tape back for his parents to try to find a resolution to the situation. Benny's mother and father then have a discussion as to how to handle the problem, and come up with a "solution" that may turn out to either save or destroy their family...
Again, BENNY'S VIDEO didn't turn out to be quite the film that I expected it to be. From what I had read, I thought that Benny (played by the same smarmy little bastard that played Paul in Haneke's FUNNY GAMES - though a few years younger in this film) was going to be some video-obsessed, anti-social nerd and that his family would be some sort of borderline-abusive emotional automatons - but that's really not the case here. What "I" saw, was a relatively normal (if somewhat "emotionally-absent") family that were thrust into an extremely unpleasant, yet believable situation. I think that the conversation that Benny's mother and father had after being made aware of the death of the girl held a lot of "truth" as to what lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their family, and Haneke's film shows one family's path in protecting themselves. I won't say that I necessarily agree or disagree with the decision that Benny's parents made - but I can understand them "covering" for him as much as I could understand if they had turned him in.
Technically, the film is good on all ends - the acting is all believable and strong, and the cinematography is appropriately "cold" and somewhat voyeuristic (as is necessary given the subject-matter). My main gripe was with Benny's "change of heart" at the end - I feel personally that the film would have been stronger had the family just gotten on with their lives as though nothing happened. I feel this would have been even more "chilling", but apparently Haneke thought differently. Like FUNNY GAMES, I didn't find BENNY'S VIDEO particularly "disturbing" like many others apparently do - I found it to be a strong portrayal of cause-and-effect, actions-and-consequences, and a "case-study" of one family dealing with an "unfixable" situation. Personally, I found FUNNY GAMES to revel more in it's "mean-spiritedness", where as BENNY'S VIDEO was a much more "realistic" film. I can say that I'm a relative fan of Haneke's work - but I guess I just don't find his films as "shocking" and "disturbing" as others do - I find them to be well crafted stories that delve into the "darker" side of life...8/10
Benny is a relatively average teenager, except for his penchant for watching and re-watching a homemade tape of the slaughter of a pig. He seems to be a relatively sociable child as he has friends that he hangs out with and doesn't seem to be particularly shy or reserved. He does rent a lot of videos and has a bunch of video equipment in his room - but this seems to be more of a serious hobby than an actual "obsession" for Benny. One day, he meets a girl around the same age outside the video store and invites her over to his family's apartment. His mother and father are out of town, so Benny hangs out with her, makes her some food, and shows her his pig-slaughter tape. When an "accident" in the apartment (which is inadvertently caught on Benny's video-camera)leaves the girl dead - Benny is at a loss for how to handle the situation - and decides to play the tape back for his parents to try to find a resolution to the situation. Benny's mother and father then have a discussion as to how to handle the problem, and come up with a "solution" that may turn out to either save or destroy their family...
Again, BENNY'S VIDEO didn't turn out to be quite the film that I expected it to be. From what I had read, I thought that Benny (played by the same smarmy little bastard that played Paul in Haneke's FUNNY GAMES - though a few years younger in this film) was going to be some video-obsessed, anti-social nerd and that his family would be some sort of borderline-abusive emotional automatons - but that's really not the case here. What "I" saw, was a relatively normal (if somewhat "emotionally-absent") family that were thrust into an extremely unpleasant, yet believable situation. I think that the conversation that Benny's mother and father had after being made aware of the death of the girl held a lot of "truth" as to what lengths people will go to to protect themselves and their family, and Haneke's film shows one family's path in protecting themselves. I won't say that I necessarily agree or disagree with the decision that Benny's parents made - but I can understand them "covering" for him as much as I could understand if they had turned him in.
Technically, the film is good on all ends - the acting is all believable and strong, and the cinematography is appropriately "cold" and somewhat voyeuristic (as is necessary given the subject-matter). My main gripe was with Benny's "change of heart" at the end - I feel personally that the film would have been stronger had the family just gotten on with their lives as though nothing happened. I feel this would have been even more "chilling", but apparently Haneke thought differently. Like FUNNY GAMES, I didn't find BENNY'S VIDEO particularly "disturbing" like many others apparently do - I found it to be a strong portrayal of cause-and-effect, actions-and-consequences, and a "case-study" of one family dealing with an "unfixable" situation. Personally, I found FUNNY GAMES to revel more in it's "mean-spiritedness", where as BENNY'S VIDEO was a much more "realistic" film. I can say that I'm a relative fan of Haneke's work - but I guess I just don't find his films as "shocking" and "disturbing" as others do - I find them to be well crafted stories that delve into the "darker" side of life...8/10