Although doubtlessly a compassionate intellectual, Austrian director Michael Haneke has emerged as the present-day master of dispassionate observation. Most of his protagonists are wealthy, or at least financially comfortable, Europeans who live as if life is simply a set of rules, which they obey, and a stream of rewards, which they have earned for hard work. However, at some point Chance steps into their smooth pathway and blows chaos into their faces. These agents of Fate are often amoral, apathetic, or irrational and act as if they feel nothing, not even excitement, about their tumultuous, meaningless deeds. Much of the havoc is psychological. Even when there is violence in a Haneke film, it is the scars on the emotions and memory that will last longer than any physical pain. With carefully composed, classical shots, often lasting for many minutes, Haneke lets us inhabit the spaces of his characters while coolly observing their greatly changed realities. In the nineteenth century Haneke would have been a major novelist, filling his books with precise details and observations. Instead, at the crossroads of the 21st century, he proved himself to be as worthy of veneration and study as the grand auteurs of the 1960s and 70s. This series will offer a retrospective of eight of his nine feature films.
--- Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society
George and Anna have an apparently perfect life with a lovely young daughter Eva, a beautiful home, good jobs, a perfectly maintained car and cultural consumer items. Every morning runs like clockwork » read more
Benny spends long hours watching videos he has shot – some of street scenes outside his bedroom window, but more often scenes of the slaughtering of a pig in the countryside. » read more
A young Romanian boy slips into Austria in a truck full of home appliances and survives on the streets. One middle-aged couple has a go at foster parenting a particularly alienated young girl. » read more
Peter and Paul, who appear to be guests of nearby friends, come over to borrow eggs, but as each new batch of eggs breaks, their real purpose becomes clouded and then sinister. » read more
In a crowded shopping area, Jean cruelly tosses his unfinished food into the lap of a Romanian beggar but is accosted by a young French-African who berates his poor conduct. A fight ensues » read more
Reticent, unsmiling, and middle-aged, Erika Kohut still sleeps with her mother, but her sexual desires blossom through encounters with a new student, 22-year-old Walter, who initially thinks he has the upper hand in their relationship. » read more
Something terrible has happened in “the city.” Families and individuals wander the countryside trying to survive, even if by theft or murder. » read more
Appearances are nearly always deceiving among Haneke’s characters. In CACHÉ, Georges Laurent has a great job as host of an intellectual TV talk show, a beautiful home, a lovely
