Haneke's first film I can only describe this way: existential as as all hell.
Consisting of individual palette's of moments in a family's life, it is the story about disenfranchised and disaffected people who make the ultimate decision: not just to kill themselves, nay, but to completely destroy their identity.
I personally can't help but laugh at myself, because of all things that happens in this movie the part that disturbs me the most is the tearing up of the little girl's artwork. Everything else seems to be okay, even the death of the fish, but it's the artwork that affected me. I think that's because of all the things this movie showed them destroying, the artwork was the only thing they created, and in a sense it's the true identity of any of the characters. Everything else, the money, the wealth, the tools, the house, even themselves, seems in some way superficial, but the fact that they went to the lengths of removing pictures, photos, and paintings actually gets to me. Isn't that weird? Anyway, this movie is pretty interesting. I really like the compositions, especially how the faces of the characters aren't shown as much as usual. This movie really expresses the feeling that these people are defined by their possessions and actions, not by their faces or personality. It's really not that difficult to feel for and understand them.
Unfortunately, the movie ruins much of its message with those scrolling intertitles at the end. Honestly, that information almost undermines the whole concept of the movie.
--PolarisDiB
Consisting of individual palette's of moments in a family's life, it is the story about disenfranchised and disaffected people who make the ultimate decision: not just to kill themselves, nay, but to completely destroy their identity.
I personally can't help but laugh at myself, because of all things that happens in this movie the part that disturbs me the most is the tearing up of the little girl's artwork. Everything else seems to be okay, even the death of the fish, but it's the artwork that affected me. I think that's because of all the things this movie showed them destroying, the artwork was the only thing they created, and in a sense it's the true identity of any of the characters. Everything else, the money, the wealth, the tools, the house, even themselves, seems in some way superficial, but the fact that they went to the lengths of removing pictures, photos, and paintings actually gets to me. Isn't that weird? Anyway, this movie is pretty interesting. I really like the compositions, especially how the faces of the characters aren't shown as much as usual. This movie really expresses the feeling that these people are defined by their possessions and actions, not by their faces or personality. It's really not that difficult to feel for and understand them.
Unfortunately, the movie ruins much of its message with those scrolling intertitles at the end. Honestly, that information almost undermines the whole concept of the movie.
--PolarisDiB