Funny Games premieres at the Sundance Film festival this week. Turns out that this version is a shot for shot remake of Michael Haneke’s original 1997 film of the same name. Haneke is also directing the remake which kind of makes me wonder why he’s doing it shot for shot. Normally I’d be panning this outright. Why remake something that’s as poignant and disturbing as Funny Games when it stands so well on its own? For that matter, why shoot an exact duplicate with different actors? But in this case, Haneke has something up his sleeve and I’m actually looking forward to seeing this.

Don’t let the music in the trailer fool you, there’s nothing remotely humorous about this home invasion thriller. Two seemingly clean cut and unremarkable youth enter the vacation home of a family, take them hostage, and torture them while forcing them to play a game with rules that constantly change and have little basis or formula. Even though all the truly violent acts occur off screen, the original 1997 movie disturbed the absolute fuck out of Audrey and me.

The rest of this discussion goes behind the cut. I don’t want to spoil anything because I think it’s a movie that should be experienced fresh for the first time. I don’t know who you recommend highly disturbing films to, but we quite enjoyed it and encourage people to see it. If you have seen it, rented it, or are at Sundance and have seen the remake, venture forth.

Seen it? Holy fuck stick was that shit insane.

The thing that really disturbed me the most was the manipulative way Haneke makes us, the audience, an accomplice to the horrors carried out on screen. Movies are usually a removed, voyeuristic experience. We’re usually the omniscient third party watching things as they happen, never interfering or controlling the action. We’re like Oatu, the Watcher, destined to watch, never to participate. Haneke tricks us out of this comfort zone by breaking the fourth wall. By acknowledging the audience directly, we’re now accomplices to the two kidnappers. We can stop at any time. We can walk out of the theater, stop the DVD, turn off the television. But we won’t. We want to see how it ends. We’re dying to see how it ends. And so we sit there and do nothing. And by choosing to do nothing, we’ve essentially allowed the family to be tortured and tormented.

The rewind bit really threw me for a loop. I cheered out loud when Anna grabbed the gun to take one of them out. And then, it un-happened! And I was so pissed. And then I realized how I had been manipulated by the film and couldn’t help but be taken aback a bit. We watched the interview with Haneke that was included on the DVD and he chuckled that that was his intent, to manipulate the audience to the point where they actually cheer a murder. Clever, clever snarky director.

I’m curious to see how it will be received here in the states. Breaking the fourth wall is generally frowned upon, but in this case, there is method behind the madness. I’m curious too why Haneke chose to do a carbon copy of his original. I’d like to see an interview with him on that on a DVD or something. I think Naomi Watts will be amazing in the role of Anna and Time Roth will kick ass. I’m unfamiliar with the two lads, but they look the part and already creep the shit out of me. So I’m really interested to check this out at some point.

Oh, and I’m never inviting nice looking white boys into my house ever. EVER! Especially if they come asking for eggs!

[Via Funny Games - Official Site]

Share This

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 4:19 am and is filed under Movies, Remix, Horror. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.