i figured the guy deserved his own thread. Funny Games, Code Unknown, The Pianist. All great films, all very fucked up and all make you think. I was meaning to go see his newest film, The Time Of The Wolf, at some foreign film festival in NYC, but i missed it b/c i suck. Has anybody seen it? Is it any good? I think he was supposed to be in attendance for a Q and A that night, i'm so pissed that i missed it now.
Just announced is his newest movie starring the lovely Juliette Binoche (who was in Code Unknown) called Cache, or in English, Hidden. IMDB plot synopsis: Georges, who hosts a TV literary review, receives packages containing videos of himself with his family -- shot secretly from the street -- and alarming drawings whose meaning is obscure. He has no idea who may be sending them. Gradually, the footage on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender has known Georges for some time. Georges feels a sense of menace hanging over him and his family but, as no direct threat has been made, the police refuse to help. A number of clues point to the tapes coming from a guy who holds a grudge against Georges for some kind of childhood injustice. What happened back then? What is the tape-sender's aim exactly? Georges' confrontation with the past soon begins to undermine his very settled existence.
Has Haneke received acclaim in the states? Nobody I know has ever heard of him. his films were recommended to me by a woman i met on an airplane going to england, so maybe he's big in europe (?).
I loved The Piano Teacher, but haven't seen anything else yet (in fact, I just missed a chance to see Funny Games on the big screen last week). The discomfort I felt during the Piano Teacher was unparalleled; it took me a while to decide whether I liked it. What I couldn't get out of my head, above all else, was the sudden cut to black at the end; that resonated quite stronly with me.
It also made me a huge fan of Isabelle Huppert, whose performance in that and Eight Women, and the difference between the two, blew my mind (although interestingly, she was playing almost exactly the same character in the two movies -- but the different approaches she takes to the roles is amazing).
Haneke's new film sounds fascinating. Lost Highway-ish, to be sure, but I'm sure he'll take it in a vastly different (and uncomfortably realistic) direction.
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Out on May 28. Supposedly, it's Haneke's first french film, and a lot of fans seem to be mad at him because of it. What I've read from last year's Cannes was that the audience laughed and booed at the screening.
Quote from: GhostboyWhat I couldn't get out of my head, above all else, was the sudden cut to black at the end; that resonated quite stronly with me.
I know exactly what you mean. I felt like almost suffocating when he did that. Huppert did that
thing (which I will not spoil) and then... get out and cut to black and credits and we :shock:
Haneke has one twisted fucking mind but I cannot resist watching his films - Funny Games or Code Inconnu are also very emotionally powerful movies.
ghostboy, if piano teacher made you uncomfortable, you must see funny games. i nearly shit myself from frustration. there is ONE scene in particular (the remote control scene) that just makes you want to lunge at the screen and kill it.
Unfortunately, I have seen that scene. A friend of mine showed it to me, way before I had any idea who Haneke was.
Quote from: GhostboyUnfortunately, I have seen that scene. A friend of mine showed it to me, way before I had any idea who Haneke was.
I'd kill that friend with a stick.
I first saw funny games on tv once, it was a real stroke of luck, I was zapping through then I heard that devilish song by john zorn/torture garden right at the beggining and it hooked me. I had trouble sleeping that night.
I saw la pianiste but I had such high expectations for it that it became dissapointing, I'll see it again when I get the chance.
Code inconnu is so-so. The theme is an always complicated one, and this film made me think a lot about things untill a week after I saw it. There is a brilliant BRILLIANT scene with juliette binoche in the subway. but I didn't enjoy it as much as funny games
I just saw Time Of The Wolf this afternoon, and it is BRILLIANT. One of the most beautifully illustrations of optimism (which was a shock, coming from Haneke) that I've ever seen. It's a little slow starting out, but bare with it...
Quote from: cronopioWhat I've read from last year's Cannes was that the audience laughed and booed at the screening.
while trying to bring this thread back to the forefront, i'd also like to pose the question - how? time of the wolf blew me away. haneke has absolute control over the characters, the tone, and his audience throughout the whole thing. he takes the average middle class family and throws them into chaos in such a jarring and disturbing way. the only thing i can see people having a problem with is that he shows very sensational subject matter in a very straightforward way, which can throw a viewer off and make them look for faults in the film. i've shown several people haneke's films over this summer and they all can't take the power of his awesomeness. if you haven't seen any of his movies yet, you're only cheating yourself. go out now and see every one of them before cache comes out in the states. you will not be disappointed, and all your friends will think you're the shit for discovering this man's work.
I've seen his 3 most available movies in the US:
1) Piano Teacher
2) Code: Unknown
3) Time of the Wolf
... and that's my rank.
"Time of the Wolf" really started out well in the beginning, then it just kind of meandered to an end.
SPOILERS The murder at the beginning was well done and set the mood for the movie to go forward. Once they meet the kid, I thought the movie started to drag. Though I thought the anticipation and arrival of the train reminded me of a cross between "Day of the Dead" and "Road Warrior," which was totally unexpected and a welcome (but unintentional) homage from Haneke. And then there's the rape and the mystery of who the rapist was, which was an uneccessary distraction to the story. Two real horses get shot. And then it just kind of drags to an end. END SPOILERS
Was there an underlying meaning that I missed that other apocalyptic movies didn't cover? I think we all get that ordinary people put in extraordinary situations will yield unexpected results. Survival of the fittest, evolution takes over, yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it.
Out of what I've seen...
The Piano Teacher: his best film. I love twisted love stories...and this one is really twisted.
Funny Games: his second best, coming close behind The Piano Teacher. Completely terrifying. I watched this in 4 in the morning and I couldn't get my eyes off the screen.
Time of the Wolf: this one is alright, a little slow. Maybe even a little overrated.
Benny's Video: yeah, this one is great until he kills the girl. Then it just kind of looses focus. This or Time of the Wolf are my least favorite Haneke.
For you guys who know my tastes, would I like Haneke? I'm thinking of bb'ing Time Of The Wolf and Code Unknown... they're on cheap right now at amazon.co.uk
just finished watching The Piano Teacher, and was shocked at how numb it left me. when the credits came up, i realized my leg was shaking, and was left wondering how long it had been. It left me with an uncomfertable feeling i have not felt from a film in a long time. i have Time Of The Wolf with me, and i'm prob going to watch that soon
i'm trying to track down code unknown and funny games. are they worth it?
Quote from: meatwad on January 15, 2006, 02:13:57 PM
just finished watching The Piano Teacher, and was shocked at how numb it left me. when the credits came up, i realized my leg was shaking, and was left wondering how long it had been. It left me with an uncomfertable feeling i have not felt from a film in a long time. i have Time Of The Wolf with me, and i'm prob going to watch that soon
i'm trying to track down code unknown and funny games. are they worth it?
funny games is, definitely. code unknown i think i need to see again, but i remember not being totally wowed with it.
Yeah, "Funny Games" isn't bad. You need to see the movie for this one scene that is both hilarious and so fulfilling. People that have seen it know what I'm talking about.
"Code: Unknown" is a forgettable movie. "Time of the Wolf" is boring and predictable.
Come to think of it, if you're happy with "Piano Teacher," don't check out any other Haneke movie. You'll save yourself some disappointment.
So I watched Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher, and Time Of The Wolf Today. This guy is a heavyweight. Piano Teacher was my kind of film. All the way. Thought it had the best open ending of recent memory (really, I'm starting to think there's no point in "ending" things any other way), until I got through Time Of The Wolf.
SPOILERS: The most disturbing/moving/sad scene ever is that rape in Time..., I don't know what it is about it. She kills herself right afterward, and then we see this young, quite beautiful girl's dead body being cleaned by her parents. Maybe it's cos we never really saw her before. Maybe it's because she was covered up the whole time, and therefore seemed inhuman and negligible, and then seeing her flesh somehow stuck it to your gut. Maybe it was not seeing who did it, but HOW he did it, with everyone around. And thinking about how you wanted some kind of justice for the act. Even though all these killings and robbings and exploitations are taking place throughout the film, THIS one is the most horrific. And the parents are so resigned, not even seen onscreen questioning anything. For all we know, the same guy who did it could be the same guy who "saves" the kid at the end -- or a guy just like him... these things how we are capable of objectifying someone to feed our sick urges, and then turning around and saintly protecting someone else because of the moment and it's snap to our senses... this ambivalence I'm feeling right now...
Quote from: SoNowThen on January 19, 2006, 10:27:16 PM
So I watched Code Unknown, The Piano Teacher, and Time Of The Wolf Today. This guy is a heavyweight. Piano Teacher was my kind of film. All the way.
Wow, I agree with you 100% on this one. In my top 5 of this decade, easily. Loved by the respectable critics, but under-hailed overall, in my opinion. Huppert, whom I love, has never been better.
I've only seen
The Piano Teacher and, a few days ago,
Cache, which was brilliant (Binoche will wash the stain of
Chocolat off of herself yet!). I have GOT to get going on his backcatalog.
Code Unknown or
Funny Games? (I'm kind of afraid of the latter--does it have a lot of trauma/torture of the physical-violence variety?)
go for Time Of The Wolf.
Actually, you'll love Code Unknown. I just bought Funny Games. I'll pm you within the week to give you the lowdown.
Hidden has sat with me like a disease ever since I saw it a week ago. I think it has the best framings since Godard's In Praise Of Love.
Haneke fucking hit me in a big way last night. I watched The Piano Teacher, my third of his, and it was a bit of an eye opener as to his talent. He apparently has a lot. I watched the movie, and then I watched it again right after just for the shots. I have never seen such composition in long takes. I thought the characters were round and well written, the plot was unconvential but believable, and the drama was natural in its coming. There was enough motivation to make you believe what the characters were doing but not everything was explained either, so it was 'You know what this character is like, but do you know why he/she just did this?'
Haneke has a control over the audience that I've never experienced. His shots are incessantly provocative, even moreso than Polanski, and what he doesn't show is often my favorite part of the scene. Or the exciting perspective, the way he makes you look at things in a different way. On the DVD Huppert talks about how the movie is a mixture of the old and the new, and that's true in Haneke's style as well. He restrains himself enough to give his shots both the feeling of the seen and the never seen before.
I love him. I moved Funny Games straight to the top of my queque. It of course has a short wait.
For those watching Funny Games, please report back and let me know what I might need to psyche myself up for. I can handle pretty much anything on celluloid, but I need preparation for really incessant or relentless physical torture. I'm sure it's a compliment to the effectiveness of both Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Reservoir Dogs, but the torture in those movies makes me feel queasier and more uncomfortable than anything I've seen in other films. If it's just psychological/emotional/sexual stuff with no extreme physical brutality, no big deal. I adore Haneke, so I'm willing to watch something that might be hard for me to take, but I'd like to be come prepared.
Needless to say, I have avoided Hostel like the plague. I might be interested in seeing it one day, but not today. Or tomorrow. I might need to be drugged for it.
Quote from: godardian on February 16, 2006, 02:28:25 PM
For those watching Funny Games, please report back and let me know what I might need to psyche myself up for. I can handle pretty much anything on celluloid, but I need preparation for really incessant or relentless physical torture.
The torture is more psychological. The aftereffects are always shown, but the actual torturing much less. Just how many times I'm not sure.
I thought I liked the film a whole lot, but I saw it a couple of days ago and it's seldom worked its way into my thoughts. It's just that the tension is fucking fantastic, the brooding atmosphere is great, the directing and shots are great, but it's self-aware. Do you guys know how I feel about self-aware movies? I don't like them all too much.
Spoiler.
The scene in which the mother strips made me feel terribly guilty. Hanake kept it in a tight shot the whole time and I knew what he was saying and he was right - I wanted to see the flesh. Here she is being made to strip in front of her captives while her son has a pillowcase over his head and I want to see her naked.
Yeah, but her face was hidious. Haneke would have made his point more effectively if he would've cast a HOTTER YOUNGER actress.
:shock:
The fact that her face wasn't attractive makes it even more repulsive that we would want to see her naked. Or; the fact that you would want a hot actress there instead makes the same point.
You're thinking of the flesh.
Hahaha, no I was making a joke.
What I was actually thinking of during that scene was that her face was soooo hideous that I hope beyond hope that they DON'T show her naked, because I might gag. So you see, Haneke just didn't plan on someone as shallow as me defeating his rigorous system.
Just rewatched Piano Teacher and made my friend accompany me. The look of total frozen horror that gripped his face once I turned the lights on at the end just proved how wonderful Haneke actually is.
Four films by Haneke to be released to region 1 DVD by Kino (http://www.kino.com/video/news.php?news_id=43)
That's good news, but I'll Netflix them because I fucking hate Kino. Their discs have caused me more trouble than all the others combined.
I have only 71 Fragments left.
I think it's undeniable that nobody does violence like Haneke, and I would say that nobody makes it as suspenseful. The adage about the innability to show violence without glorying violence comes as close to being shattered during Benny's Video as I've seen.
The comparisons between Haneke and Hitchcock are deserved. What Hitchcock did was craft great films with psycholigical incentive presented in a creative and culturally meaningful way. This is exactly what Haneke does. Furthermore, while Hitchock's films were popular and talked about, he was not given the recognition he deserved because his films were low-class art that dealt with murder and spies and secret codes. Until Truffaut right. Well, I would like to see the same happen with Haneke.
Hidden has been bugging me for some time.
I don't think the surface level story (which I was really engaged by) isnt given the resolution it deserves. The ambiguity of the ending feels forced and pretentious and more concerned with baffling me into recognising the larger implications of the story's subject matter. It's kind of condescending.
Actually, maybe I'm just annoyed and embarassed at being tricked, after spending 2 hours scrutinizing surveilance footage and examining cigarette butts. Ah, voila - maybe I should have been examining my own racial predjudices? Did Haneke try to turn the camera on me or just the characters in the film? It's clever I suppose but does it actually work? I just don't know what I'm suppose to do with what he has presented.
watched my first haneke, funny games. it was pretty goddamn hardcore.
Roth Cast in Funny Role
Tim Roth is set to star alongside Naomi Watts in the English-language remake of German director Michael Haneke's film Funny Games (also to be directed by Haneke).
Variety reports that Roth will play a father and husband who tries to protect his family after two psychos invade their cabin during a vacation.
Roth has been very busy lately. He's already completed the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Youth Without Youth and Tsunami: The Aftermath for HBO. Right now, he's shooting the Wong Kar Wai film My Blueberry Nights in New York, with an impressive list of co-stars including Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and Norah Jones (yes, that Norah Jones). Funny Games begins production in September.
I just saw the original version of this (along with
Code Unknown and
Time of the Wolf), and it was brilliant and sickening on both the sensational and moral levels. I don't know if I could ever stand to watch it again, but as a very enthusiastic fan of both Watts and Haneke, I will HAVE to see the remake. I'm wondering what, if any, changes will be made. It seems inconceivable to me that it will be a shot-for-shot remake, but that would be a real artistic coup for Haneke.
Quote from: MacGuffin on August 24, 2006, 05:40:53 PM
Roth Cast in Funny Role
Tim Roth is set to star alongside Naomi Watts in the English-language remake of German director Michael Haneke's film Funny Games (also to be directed by Haneke).
Variety reports that Roth will play a father and husband who tries to protect his family after two psychos invade their cabin during a vacation.
Roth has been very busy lately. He's already completed the Francis Ford Coppola-directed Youth Without Youth and Tsunami: The Aftermath for HBO. Right now, he's shooting the Wong Kar Wai film My Blueberry Nights in New York, with an impressive list of co-stars including Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and Norah Jones (yes, that Norah Jones). Funny Games begins production in September.
Haneke lines up 'Teacher's Tale'
Bruhl to star in 'Metamorphosis'
Source: Variety
COLOGNE — Austrian director Michael Haneke, who has just wrapped the U.S. remake of his thriller "Funny Games," has started to prep his next project, "The White Tape or the Teacher's Tale."
German shingle X-Filme Creative Pool and France's Les Films du Losange are on board as co-producers.
Pic, to be set in a Northern German village before World War I, has received $400,000 production support from the French-German Film Funding Commission.
X-Filme is also backing a drama helmed by actress Nicolette Krebitz, "The Heart is a Dark Forest," about a woman who finds out that her husband is leading a double life.
Pic features this year's Silver Berlin Bear winner Nina Hoss ("Yella"), along with Monika Bleibtreu and Otto Sander, and is produced by Tom Tykwer.
It has received financial support from funding bodies FF Hamburg and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
In other production news, Mark Damon's shingle Foresight Unlimited has announced that thesp Daniel Bruhl ("Goodbye, Lenin!") will star in a new adaptation of Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis," the classic spooky novelette about a man who turns into an insect.
Pic will also star Stephen Rea and Anna Paquin.
The production will be the directorial debut of Limor Diamant, the producer of "FeardotCom," and has a reported budget of $9 million.
Haneke takes Eurimages cash
Angelopoulos, Noe pics also funded
Source: Variety
Projects from Gaspar Noe, Theo Angelopoulos and Michael Haneke are among those selected for production support from pan-European funding org Eurimages, which handed out E4.4 million ($6.3 million) to 11 international co-productions in its October sesh.
The largest single amount, $1 million, went to Haneke's German-language drama "The White Tape or the Teacher's Tale," which is set at the beginning of the 20th century.
Angelopoulos received $930,000 for "Dust of Time," the second part of his trilogy about the Greek experience in the 20th century that kicked off with "The Weeping Meadow." Pic stars Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Bruno Ganz and Valeria Golina.
Haneke's and Angelopoulos' pics have already been promised coin from the German-French Funding Commission and Filmstiftung NRW, respectively.
An additional $930,000 in Eurimages coin went to French helmer Marina de Van for "Ne te retourne pas," a psychodrama about a photographer whose pictures tell a story different than the one she perceives.
The next pic from "Irreversible" helmer Noe will be another psycho trip bordering on the fantastic that will again play with the chronology.
"Enter the Void" deals with the five minutes prior to a man's death and the period thereafter.
Eurimages also is supporting "Applesinpiken" (The Orange Girl), from Norway's Eva Dahr, based on a story by "Sophie's World" author Jostein Gaarder.
How awful is his American remake of Funny Games? I've heard scathing things. It's a shot for shot remake, right?
Also, has anyone seen The White Ribbon yet?
Quote from: Stefen on October 14, 2009, 04:12:54 PM
How awful is his American remake of Funny Games?
the awfulest.
Oh, no! It's the worst?
I still think he has one of the most intriguing filmographies.
I saw The White Ribbon.
http://modage.tumblr.com/post/208065026/nyff-the-white-ribbon
I still feel like he's A More Expensive Version of Lars Von Trier, but I haven't seen Antichrist yet.
This guy is at the top of his game right now. I do see the connection with Von Trier. Although Haneke's language and storytelling is interested in formalism. Von Trier is much more experimental. LVT works in the spirit of Dreyer and Hanake works in the spirit of Bresson. In their own way of course. However Dreyer and Bresson are still way beyond.
Michael Haneke - My Life (2009, Arte TV)
24 Realities Per Second (2005)
Hollywood Reporter discussion panel (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/writers-full-uncensored-interview-390250) with Michael Haneke, Judd Apatow, Mark Boal, David Magee, Chris Terrio and John Krasinski.
Quote from: wilderesque on November 14, 2012, 06:06:01 PM
Hollywood Reporter discussion panel (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/writers-full-uncensored-interview-390250) with Michael Haneke, Judd Apatow, Mark Boal, David Magee, Chris Terrio and John Krasinski.
Thanks for that, but I ended up wasting my day jumping from one roundtable to another.
La Master class de Michael Haneke (http://vimeo.com/57677599) from last October. French only.
Also, there's a pretty good interview with Darius Khondji about Amour in the latest issue of American Cinematographer. He mentions that the majority of the movie was shot at a 35mm focal length, discusses convincing Haneke to shoot digitally for the first time (which Haneke says he hated in one of the DP/30 interviews above), the problems that ensued, etc. It's a decent read.
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See, now THAT'S how you correctly post a video or photo without comment or context.
I wonder how many name drops it took before Haneke was convinced he's a director
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Quote from: Tortuga on February 06, 2013, 06:49:07 AM
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Twitter troll of the year, continuously makes my day
Brief video interview with Haneke (https://www.bfi.org.uk/live/video/153) in which he describes his beginnings, influences, and aspirations that led to him becoming a film director
Michael Haneke - Love for Cinema (no subs)
^
Forthcoming documentary about Haneke to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival...
Michael H. Profession: Director, directed and written by Yves Montmayeur. (Austria, France) – World Premiere.
Over the past twenty-five years, director Michael Haneke has established himself as a towering figure in modern cinema whose rigorous focus on the craft of filmmaking has produced works of profound artistry. This career-spanning documentary (gives unprecedented access and) covers the body of Haneke's work, offering insight into his creative process through on-set footage and interviews with the man himself and collaborators including Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert and Juliette Binoche. In French, German with subtitles.
Michael Haneke's Next Film 'Flashmob' Reportedly Shoots This Summer
via The Playlist
Michael Haneke usually doesn't let more than a couple years pass between films, and it would appear that the director is gearing up his next effort, his first feature since 2012's Palme d'Or and Oscar winning "Amour." And it would find the filmmaker taking on some unexpected subject matter.
Film Comment reports that Haneke will shoot "Flashmob" this summer, with the story partially set in the U.S. And yes, the movie is about that exact subject. The story will follow a group of characters who connect through the internet and are brought together by the titular event at the end, while the movie thematically exploring the relationship between media and reality.
And while there doesn't seem to be much other news on this project out there at the moment, financing started coming together a few years ago when Haneke was shooting "Amour," with the Austrian Film Institute kicking in some funds. No word yet on casting, but we presume if lensing happens in the next few months, we'll see Haneke back at Cannes in 2015.
Michael Haneke Provides Update On 'Flashmob,' Says He's Waiting For A Certain Actress
via The Playlist
We're now over two years since Michael Haneke took the Palme d'Or and won an Oscar for "Amour," and the director is taking his time getting back behind the camera. Earlier this year, it was reported that he was planning to shoot his next picture, "Flashmob," this summer. But it looks like those plans have shifted as the filmmaker seems to still be in the process of figuring out exactly how he wants to present his tale.
Haneke was recently in Copenhagen where he gave a masterclass and Montages reports the director stated "Flashmob" would likely not shoot this summer. Part of the reason is that he's apparently waiting for a certain, unnamed actress to take a role in the film ("I'm waiting in line," he said) and the other is that he's still not decided on the visual/tonal aesthetic he wants to use. In short, it seems all very early at the moment. "I too often say too much about the future of my projects, and I've never managed to keep my promises in advance," Haneke stated.
And certainly, we can see why Haneke wants to ensure that all the elements are just so, as the premise for "Flashmob" is a bit different than his usual fare. The story will follow a group of characters who connect through the internet and are brought together by the titular event at the end, while the movie thematically exploring the relationship between media and reality.
This is a snippet from the Paris Review, there book of interviews with writers are INCREDIBLE and well worth getting your hands on this Christmas......
Michael Haneke, The Art of Screenwriting No. 5
Interviewed by Luisa Zielinski
INTERVIEWER
Would you say that drawing from one's own experience and background is always good—or even necessary?
HANEKE
I've never seen good results from people trying to speak about things they don't know firsthand. They will talk about Afghanistan, about children in Africa, but in the end they only know what they've seen on TV or read in the newspaper. And yet they pretend—even to themselves—that they know what they're saying. But that's bullshit. I'm quite convinced that I don't know anything except for what is going on around me, what I can see and perceive every day, and what I have experienced in my life so far. These are the only things I can rely on. Anything else is merely the pretense of knowledge with no depth. Of course, I don't just write about things precisely as they have happened to me—some have and some haven't. But at least I try to invent stories with which I can personally identify.
My students, meanwhile, pitch only the gravest of topics. For them it's always got to be the Holocaust. I usually tell them, Back off. You have no idea what you're talking about. You can only reproduce what you read or heard elsewhere. Others who actually lived through it have said it much better than you ever could. Try to create something that springs organically from your own experience. For only then does it stand the slightest chance of being genuinely interesting. Incidentally, this is also why in our day and age the movies coming out of the developing countries are much more interesting than our own. These films portray an authentic experience, and they do so with real passion, while we, the viewers, only know of these things second- or thirdhand. And yet, we can feel when something is real—as a viewer, you can feel the pleasure or despair of a certain scene. We, in our protected little worlds, are much more numb because we are in luck not to experience danger on a daily basis. But that's precisely why the film industry in the so-called first world is in such a rut. There is just so much recycling. We don't have the capability to represent authentic experiences because there is so little we do experience. At the most basic level, all we're concerned about here are our material possessions and sexual urges. There really isn't much more to our lives.
INTERVIEWER
Wouldn't you say that it can be valuable—and not so easy—to write about your material possessions and sexual urges in a way that brings the world of our experience to life? Maybe that's our challenge, in New York or Vienna or Berlin.
HANEKE
I would agree with that wholeheartedly.
INTERVIEWER
It seems to me that in the context of your oeuvre, Amour marks a slight shift of focus. If previously your films dealt with problems of communication and cruelty, then Amour is surprisingly tender in comparison, displaying some- thing that's akin even to genuine understanding and love.
HANEKE
And even so, we've got problems of communication—between father and daughter. But in the married couple I did set out to construct an ideal case. They truly love each other and have respected each other and remained close for over fifty years. That, of course, isn't very common, but I needed that to raise the stakes in the plot. It was important that this be a couple that has you say, Wow, I would love to have that, too. That was simply necessary from a dramaturgic standpoint. Had I set the film in a social context lacking such financial security, it would've been an altogether different film. Amour's protagonists still take part and pleasure in high culture. They are comfortable, they go to concerts with their friends. I wanted this film to speak about the end of life without being a social drama. Because no matter how rich and cultured you are, if you are sick and nearing death, you're not going to be having such an amazing time—that was my point of departure. I wanted to ask, How do you deal with the suffering of the person you love? That is an unbearable situation.
Michael Haneke Drops 'Flashmob,' Working On New Film Set In France
via The Playlist
The last we heard about Michael Haneke's long-developing "Flashmob," he was waiting for an unnamed actress' schedule to clear up so he could make his movie about a group of characters who connect through the internet and are brought together by the titular event at the end, with the movie thematically exploring the relationship between media and reality. But whether his patience is up, his interest has waned, or whatever other reason, Haneke is moving on.
Le Parisien reports that Haneke has dropped "Flashmob," with the director revealing he has been researching his next movie that will take place in France. Of course, what it's about, when it might shoot, or other such details haven't been disclosed, with the filmmaker even refusing to discuss why he's decided not to make "Flashmob."
Michael Haneke Reteams With 'Amour' Duo Isabelle Huppert & Jean-Louis Trintignant For Refugee Film 'Happy End'
via The Playlist
We're clocking on four years since Michael Haneke tore our hearts out with "Amour," and aside from helming an opera performance for television broadcast, all has been quiet in terms of a new film from the director. Over the summer, we learned the director had dropped his long-developing "Flashmob" and was working on a new France-set movie. Details at that time were scarce, but cinephiles have a holiday-season treat as much more has been revealed about what Haneke is brewing next.
French media reports that Haneke is reteaming with Isabelle Huppert ("Amour," "Time Of The Wolf," "The Piano Teacher") and Jean-Louis Trintignant ("Amour") for "Happy End." Exact details are being kept under wraps, but production will take place this spring in Calais, and while the story will involve the migrant crisis in Europe, producers stress it is only an element of the plot, not the narrative focus.
Michael Haneke Goes Peak TV With 'Kelvin's Book'
via The Playlist
For years, fans of Michael Haneke have hit their nearest arthouse to experience his perverse, cold-blooded, darkly humorous pictures. Now, the filmmaker is joining the throngs who are headed to television, for a project that truly sounds unlike anything he's done before. If some have dismissed "Happy End" for playing the hits, so to speak, well Haneke has something truly original — at least for him — on the horizon.
The director has teamed with FremantleMedia's UFA Fiction to create his first ever TV series, "Kelvin's Book." The ten-part series will be in English, is set in a dystopian world, and will tell the adventurous story of a group of young people in a not too distant future. During a flight, they are forced to make an emergency landing outside of their home and are confronted with the actual face of their home country for the first time.
It sounds a bit like the premise for your standard YA novel mixed with "Lost," but we're sure in Haneke's hands it'll be something utterly singular. Even more, it looks like the filmmaker isn't done commenting on the current fascination with digital technology.
"No contemporary director has moved and inspired me more than Michael Haneke. 'Kelvin's Book' is an extraordinarily rich, gripping and ambitious story. With contemporary themes and a reflection of the digital age that we live in, there's no better time for this project. We're privileged to be working with the esteemed Michael Haneke to bring his creative and unique vision to international audiences," said Nico Hofmann, CEO of UFA
However, there are some big questions that still need to be answered regarding the project. Who's writing the script? And is Haneke just creating the project and sticking around as an executive producer, or will he be rolling up his sleeves to direct some or all of the episodes? At any rate, Haneke is pretty excited to be making something on a bigger canvas.
"After ten TV-movies and twelve films, I wanted to tell a longer story for once," he said.
Coming June 15, 2020 as part of the Conversations with Filmmakers Series (https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Series/C/Conversations-with-Filmmakers-Series)
(https://i.imgur.com/5YlkQrK.jpg) (https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Haneke-Interviews-Conversations-Filmmakers/dp/1496828402/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1584732490&sr=8-1)
December 21, 2021Time of the Wolf (2003) on blu-ray from Strand Releasing
(https://i.imgur.com/ppgE5Ri.jpg)
Following a global cataclysm, Anne (Isabelle Huppert) and her family set out for a safe haven at their holiday home. But, when they arrive, the home is already occupied by other survivors. Their hopes for safety are immediately dashed by a violent tragedy, which serves as a lesson to take nothing for granted and expect the worst in this new, harsh landscape. Accompanied by a fierce young boy (Hakim Taleb), the family eventually reaches a train station with the prospect of escaping.
This line from Vassilis Kroustallis'
review (https://filmisafineaffair.com/reviews/luzifer-peter-brunner-review) of
Luzifer (https://xixax.com/index.php?topic=14511.0) feels like a skeleton key to Haneke's oeuvre:
Quote from: Vassilis KroustallisThe film employs its Haneke touch in the way its main characters are meant to endure all and still be intimate to each other.
Google's translation is wonky, but according to
this article (https://www.profil.at/kultur/filmemacher-michael-haneke-wird-80-eine-wuerdigung/401947096) from a few weeks ago, it sounds like Haneke's English-language series "Kelvin's Book" may not happen, and that Haneke himself may be done :/
QuoteIncidentally, he was "not touched," stressed Michael Haneke, somewhat breathlessly , a good two weeks ago at the Austrian Film Museum, when, at the start of his Vienna retrospective, he was explaining the genesis of his cinema debut "The Seventh Continent" (1989). He spoke through the antivirus mask, audibly struggling, but he didn't like the idea of ��being taken for sentimental, even touched, by a certain shortness of breath.
[...]
It's a pity that Haneke's next big step, probably also due to the pressure of a pandemic cultural landscape, may have already failed for good. The dystopian ten-part series that Haneke wrote, planned and is said to have financed to a large extent in 2018/19 under the title "Kelvin's Book" would have meant the director's return to a fundamentally changed television. His last TV production, an adaptation of Kafka's fragmentary novel "The Castle", was 25 years ago.
December
(https://i.imgur.com/WltN4AB.jpg) (https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/6323-michael-haneke-trilogy)
A new TV documentary,
Michael Haneke, Cineaste of our Times (2022) aired earlier this year
QuoteProduced by Fabienne Servan Schreiber and Laurence Miller, and directed by Marie-Ève de Grave, "Michael Haneke, Cineaste of our Times" will offer a portrait of the two-time Palme d'Or winner that mixes interviews with the filmmaker and his key collaborators (actors Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert are both already confirmed) alongside excerpts from his films. Cinétévé also brought on Haneke's traditional producer Les Films du Losange as a co-production partner, offering the project in depth access to his oeuvre.