I'm a fan of Michael Haneke and this is one of his least if not the least appreciated film, equally as the American remake of it, so I was curious how "bad" it actually was.
I've watched it on DVD that is a part of an awesome Michael Haneke box-set I own. It features all his films except the last one (Amour) and the US remake of Funny Games, and each DVD comes with a pretty extensive interview with the director on that specific movie, usually lasting up to 15 minutes.
Even from such a long time distance (I think the interview was filmed in 2007), he still thinks positively about Funny Games and is happy how it turned out. I think he called it a "complete structure", and that's why he enjoys is so much.
It is, above all, a deconstruction of the horror genre, and works by breaking the rules of story telling, as well as the boundaries between the audience and the film protagonists, all to confront the audience's expectations. In other words, it's a commentary on the manipulative nature of the film medium. A meta-film.
And it works! I was really pleasantly surprised how the film was engaging and rewarding to watch. Perhaps my previous knowledge of the film helped me not to be annoyed with being played and manipulated by the director, but it was overall very skillfully executed. The actors portraying the family members were absolutely brilliant, and a shining point of the film, including the kid actor as well. He was so earnest in his delivery. And the story, despite director's fears, still holds on as being very brutal and gut-wrenching.
Definitely a must see for anyone interested in metacinema. I loved it!
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Reply by tmdb53400018
on March 4, 2017 at 12:41 PM
I saw it many years ago, before the American remake came out. It's influential to me - but only to a certain point. Haneke clearly wants Americans to repent from enjoying cinematic violence, and I don't think that's gonna happen - least of all, for me.
Still, it is an effective film. I so deeply felt it when - SPOILER
the mother shot that little prick, only for it to be ruined by the director's breaking of the rules.
Reply by Patrick E. Abe
on June 23, 2020 at 12:51 PM
I knew a bit about the movie before it played on 21 June 2020, as the second Michael Haneke film on Foreign Film Sunday. (The first film was the Austrian TV film, "Das Schloss," which was a stroll through Kafka land that stopped like a mostly-complete movie missing the final reel.) "Funny Games" moved at a considerably faster pace, with most of the fatal action happening off screen. However, even though I added an extra minute, the TCM film stopped just after the sailboat scene. I found a version with several language subtitle options on YouTube, but didn't bother to search out the "can we borrow some eggs for breakfast?" scene. I got a strong whiff of "Leopold and Loeb" from this movie, so this one is on my "Nazi Supermen on The Eastern Front, Forget It" list. (If I want to revisit that amoral world, "Come And See" covers that "Untermenschen" attitude in spades.)