The second film from the Austrian auteur Michael Haneke, Benny's Video is another look at the director's vision of our modern world and the societal problems he sees as rife within it.
Benny's Video shows us a short period in the life of the eponymous character. Obsessed with visual images and that which he captures on camera, Benny's eye is caught by a girl he sees at his local video shop. He invites her to his house one day while his parents are away, and shows her his favourite video: a pig being slaughtered on his uncle's farm. What follows is Haneke's take on the accustomisation of mankind to horrendous violence and the true capability of human cruelty.
In many ways, not least of all Haneke's direct statement, Benny's Video acts as a spiritual successor to the earlier Der Siebente Kontinent, tackling much of the same thematic material and issues of morality. Like its predecessor, it highlights its director's message in a shocking, horrifying, and utterly compelling manner. Benny is the typical teenage boy, revelling in the thrill of violence and bloodshed. His terrifying calmness around such terrible things as well as his peaceful perversity create an enigmatic character, but a realistic one. As with Der Siebente Kontinent, the placing of the camera is key to this film, the occurrence of the main event slightly out of view an extremely important element. The film's momentum lies in the performance of Arno Frisch, who manages to perfectly portray the icy Benny with a calculated complexity. Strong support comes from Angela Winkler and Ulrich Mühe as the parents, protective but no less horrified as we.
Dark, disturbing and engaging, in Benny's Video Haneke again shows us the flaws of our species, effectively having us question what we never thought to before. A powerful movie, masterfully shot and terrifically acted, it really must be seen.
Benny's Video shows us a short period in the life of the eponymous character. Obsessed with visual images and that which he captures on camera, Benny's eye is caught by a girl he sees at his local video shop. He invites her to his house one day while his parents are away, and shows her his favourite video: a pig being slaughtered on his uncle's farm. What follows is Haneke's take on the accustomisation of mankind to horrendous violence and the true capability of human cruelty.
In many ways, not least of all Haneke's direct statement, Benny's Video acts as a spiritual successor to the earlier Der Siebente Kontinent, tackling much of the same thematic material and issues of morality. Like its predecessor, it highlights its director's message in a shocking, horrifying, and utterly compelling manner. Benny is the typical teenage boy, revelling in the thrill of violence and bloodshed. His terrifying calmness around such terrible things as well as his peaceful perversity create an enigmatic character, but a realistic one. As with Der Siebente Kontinent, the placing of the camera is key to this film, the occurrence of the main event slightly out of view an extremely important element. The film's momentum lies in the performance of Arno Frisch, who manages to perfectly portray the icy Benny with a calculated complexity. Strong support comes from Angela Winkler and Ulrich Mühe as the parents, protective but no less horrified as we.
Dark, disturbing and engaging, in Benny's Video Haneke again shows us the flaws of our species, effectively having us question what we never thought to before. A powerful movie, masterfully shot and terrifically acted, it really must be seen.