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Speaking of the occupying Japanese Imperial army in Korea, did they really commit such a horrible massacre as described in the film? If that's true then those war crimes are some of the worst atrocities I've heard of ever being commented.
Look up the movie Men Behind the Sun. It's not one you want to watch though.



Benny's Video


This is the 6th movie I've seen from director Michael Haneke, and by this point I believe I could tell one of his films just by his distinct style. I haven't completely loved any of them, as if a movie isn't high on entertainment value, I like to have an emotional connection. I find Haneke's films to be cold and distant, but fascinating in a voyeuristic way. I have enjoyed all of them to varying degrees and this was no exception.

Spoilers
The beginning is upsetting, and then I actually got a laugh out of Benny watching The Toxic Avenger since I was about his age when it was a favorite of mine. The main act of the film was very disturbing which is amazing with the subtle way it was handled. This movie is a good argument for all of those who believe violence in entertainment causes violence in it's viewers. I also thought it was brilliant how it showed that Benny would rather watch video of the view outside instead of just opening the window; quite ahead of it's time I think with the way people rely on devices so much today. I can't help but wonder if Benny was who he was because of his parents, because obviously they weren't well themselves. I couldn't believe the father asked him all of those questions without asking him why he did it. Of course that comes later but you'd think that'd be one of the first things he asks him. A situation like this would be a major dilemma for any parent, but a kid like Benny would most certainly need punishment and rehabilitation to ever have a chance at normalcy. Still, as reprehensible as the behavior of the parents was, it was believable. Some of the director's films have had endings that frustrated me, but I thought this one hit the mark. The acting is strong and it's a chilling film.




I watched Happy End yesterday and liked it quite a bit. Amour is definitely the better film but like i said i don't actually like Amour despite recognizing it as quality so i'd say i prefer Happy End. Trintignant and the young girl were really great, loved their scene together towards the end; not right at the end the one before that.

Don't feel like i know Haneke enough to be sure but was it just a big FU to his critics? I feel like all of his films are telling someone to fck off in some way. One of the biggest criticisms i've seen of Haneke in general and of Amour in particular is despite his films often being set in multicultural societies they are almost always about rich white bourgeoisie problems. Well this is about that again, same family even, and it has the Syrian Refugee Crisis pretty much playing in the background yet it's almost entirely ignored for the majority of the film. Dunno, maybe he was just making a film about privileged people ignoring the much worse plight of struggling people but that doesn't feel like Haneke to me. Wouldn't expect him to respond to criticism in a way like that and it's suspect to say the least that the Syrian's don't get featured much at all when he could have made a story largely about them. If he's examining his own disinterest in subjects like that and his ability to be disinterested despite any problems he might have himself, then fair enough, i dunno though weird film.

Don't even know if any of you except Okay has seen it just saw Cricket posting about a Haneke film and thought i may as well post, coz it was weird. Might watch Benny's Video soon.



movies can be okay...
Don't feel like i know Haneke enough to be sure but was it just a big FU to his critics? I feel like all of his films are telling someone to fck off in some way.
I never agreed with any of the critics, saying that his movies are a big FU to whoever is viewing them, since I personally never felt that way. He is caught saying multiple times, that his films are an indirect response to contemporary cinema, so if he's giving anyone the finger then that's who.


One of the biggest criticisms i've seen of Haneke in general and of Amour in particular is despite his films often being set in multicultural societies they are almost always about rich white bourgeoisie problems.
That's true that all of his films talk about the bourgeoisie, and that's because that's what he grew up in, so that's what he knows how to express the best, and I think he does it flawlessly many times. It's also quite a fun and interesting detail, when you look back at all of his movies, and notice how he reuses the same names of his characters over and over again. The father is always named George, the mother is Anne, the son can be either named Pierre/Pierrot or Benny, while the daughter is named Eva.


Well this is about that again, same family even, and it has the Syrian Refugee Crisis pretty much playing in the background yet it's almost entirely ignored for the majority of the film.
I actually agree. Despite the argument that could be made, about how he's pointing out the coldness and ignorance of these families, it's all very surface level. I think I and everyone else expected a similar case of Caché, when Happy End was firstly announced having the European refugee crisis as the backdrop. This time though, the portrayal of such crisis was done poorly, at least in my eyes.

Dunno, maybe he was just making a film about privileged people ignoring the much worse plight of struggling people but that doesn't feel like Haneke to me. Wouldn't expect him to respond to criticism in a way like that and it's suspect to say the least that the Syrian's don't get featured much at all when he could have made a story largely about them. If he's examining his own disinterest in subjects like that and his ability to be disinterested despite any problems he might have himself, then fair enough, i dunno though weird film.
Why don't you feel like that's Haneke? I personally would say that's very Haneke, since that point can be interpreted from a few of his other films, including Caché, which I know you've seen. I don't know, but I think you might have a dark idea of him, because of his dark films, but he always jokes about people thinking he is an uptight *******, when they meet him, when he's not
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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke



He is caught saying multiple times, that his films are an indirect response to contemporary cinema, so if he's giving anyone the finger then that's who.
Yeah or contemporary audiences...

Why don't you feel like that's Haneke?
Just wouldn't expect him to take that type of criticism on board to the point that he's making a film about his own disinterest, at least not this far into his career but yeah forgot about Cache. It's just that he's been getting this sort of criticism since The Seventh Continent and he really hasn't deviated from these types of subjects much then he hasn't in Happy End either, like i said though i forgot about Cache.

Anyway, thanks for the response like i said i don't know Haneke that well. Watched four of his films but i've never read any of his interviews of anything.





The Bélier Family / La famille Bélier (2014)
Directed By: Éric Lartigau
Starring: Louane Emera, Éric Elmosnino, Karin Viard

La famille Bélier has a predictably melodramatic and clichéd plot, however that doesn't stop it from being entertaining and even genuinely touching on occasion. I was worried at the start of the film, since some of the acting was ridiculously over-the-top, and the sign language came across as inauthentic and incredibly sloppy. Though with only two deaf actors playing minor roles in the film, signing was likely always going to be a problem for the principle cast.

Luckily, at some point I became quite invested in the story and its characters, and may have gotten a little misty-eyed during Paula's last song towards the end of the film. While it was initially awkward to watch, I found that even Karin Viard's wild performance worked for the more comedic moments, and once I realized how many scenes weren't meant to be taken that seriously, I started to find her more endearing. I particularly liked her forced smiling during the scenes at the farmer's market as well.

The film does have a number of issues with its writing though. Many of the side stories are really underdeveloped, and a few too many scenes only seemed to exist for the purposes of a joke, instead of furthering the plot or having any actual meaning or impact. Even some of the principle elements of the film didn't make a lot of sense when you break them down. However, I don't think the film was meant to be dissected, but rather enjoyed for the simple, heart-warming tale that it is. And despite its flaws, I did quite enjoy La famille Bélier, and in the end that's really all that matters.


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movies can be okay...
The Sword of Doom (1966) by Kihachi Okamoto

I’m not very familiar with Samurai movies, in fact, it’s a ground I barely ever touched, so I was very excited to see one get nominated, but still wary of my reaction to it. Right from the get go, the excellence of the cinematography was showcased, which is a pretty great advantage a film can have, and that’s what benefited “The Sword of Doom” the most. Because of the movie’s failure to hit any of my emotional chords, I was only left to absorb and admire its technical qualities, and all of its impressive details. Though, my liking to the film, was still from a distance.

Having a main character such as Ryunosuke, can be a double edged sword, depending on the viewer, and how much they’re willing to accept from such a portrayal. Thankfully, he effectively worked on me, so that’s all that matters. He has some incredibly intimidating wide eyes, a very evil laugh, along with an overall cold demeanour. This and more, contributed into making his presence alone, feel unpredictable and menacing. Not to mention, the ending is the perfect bow to wrap up the psyche of his character, in pointing out his alienated, lonely, and narrow square he’ll always occupy, while also having the whole sequence just be so darn badass.



I tried to watch both La famille Bélier and The Sword of Doom...but I had to download the movies without subtitles and then add the subtitles file. They didn't sync up and people were speaking with no subs, then in the quiet the subs would appear, which is very frustrating.

If someone knows of a good online link to see those movies with English subs, PM me.



I tried to watch both La famille Bélier and The Sword of Doom...but I had to download the movies without subtitles and then add the subtitles file. They didn't sync up and people were speaking with no subs, then in the quiet the subs would appear, which is very frustrating.

If someone knows of a good online link to see those movies with English subs, PM me.
I sent links for these. If anyone else needs them PM me.



Speaking of the occupying Japanese Imperial army in Korea, did they really commit such a horrible massacre as described in the film? If that's true then those war crimes are some of the worst atrocities I've heard of ever being commented.
The Japanese were barbaric in wartime.
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Women will be your undoing, Pépé

Assassination (2015)

I liked it...It's not the usual type of movie that I watch either, as I generally don't care for action films. But Assassination has a good mix of social political history, back story, impressive shooting locations & sets that were rich in detail and gave me the feeling I was in Shanghai or Seoul...And there's just enough light humor included, that for me made all the gun play fun, as this wasn't gruesome, it was more like a James Bond film.

I also really liked that the film had a female protagonist in the lead. Usually in an action film, if it's got girl power, it has more heart and more story/character detail too. I liked that...and I liked the actress who played Money Girl. I liked her companions too, who were all colorful.

I also liked how they incorporated the ever present Japanese occupation into much of the story. The occupation felt very real here, and not just an after thought.

Speaking of the occupying Japanese Imperial army in Korea, did they really commit such a horrible massacre as described in the film? If that's true then those war crimes are some of the worst atrocities I've heard of ever being commented.

I did have a hard time following the story at first, mostly because I don't speak Korean and it was a more involved story line. I was a bit confused as to who was who at times. But in the end I got it all figured out and had fun with the movie. My wife liked this one too.






VERY happy to hear you enjoyed this. Referring it to a James Bond film as far as the espionage aspect is pretty good, minus the arch villain and crazy gadgets.
And yes, at first, getting everyone in order as to their purpose and place in the story can be a bit tricky but it does all come together rather nicely.
And yeah, Japan did some pretty horrible things to the countries they took over during the beginning of the 20th century. Here's two articles that talk about it. The second is more blunt and concise. I'm sure there's more in depth ones out there, but this should give you a few key notes.
Pretty horrendous stuff and, enough sadder still, basic occupation methods if you look into other countries who did likewise. Take over with brutality, use the people as work slaves and worse, make them a lower class by denying them any rights and stealing land, property and so forth, outlawing their culture and insist they accept the culture of those taking over.
Just f@ckin wrong.



VERY happy to hear you enjoyed this. Referring it to a James Bond film as far as the espionage aspect is pretty good, minus the arch villain and crazy gadgets...
Agreed. When I said Bond, I meant the gun play, the fun-action-adventure part of it, but yes no arch villains, no crazy gadgets and no babes in bikinis. Though Money Girl was easy on the eyes

I hope to watch another nom tonight.



This evil POS was allowed to escape any type of prosecution because the Americans wanted his knowledge on germ warfare (largely gained from human experimentation), the Soviets wanted him executed - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shir%C5%8D_Ishii

Not to compare atrocities but that dude was much worse than a lot of the prosecuted Nazi's.



Pretty horrendous stuff and, enough sadder still, basic occupation methods if you look into other countries who did likewise. Take over with brutality, use the people as work slaves and worse, make them a lower class by denying them any rights and stealing land, property and so forth, outlawing their culture and insist they accept the culture of those taking over.
Just f@ckin wrong.
The Japanese were in their own class of barbarity. Read about The Rape of Nanking to mention just one atrocity. Don’t forget their brutal treatment of women. Using Korean women as so-called comfort women. There has to be some honor in war & the Japanese had none.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Benny’s Video

There’s a thread somewhere on movie forums called ‘James Cameron hates you.’ Well, if that’s true, judging by his movies, Michael Haneke really, really hates you. And everyone else. And himself. But especially people who watch movies.

It’s as cool and detached as I’ve come to expect from Haneke films. Distant, still shots of sterile apartments, lack of emotion and honesty. The pig slaughter here is echoed again in Cache with the chicken.

Benny consumes a constant diet of unpleasantness and violence through the news, violent movies, always there in the background, on repeat. Desensitisation so the violent events seem more normal. He seems to have enough understanding of special effects to know that a lot of what he sees isn’t real, but does he understand the real world consequences of imitating that (we see him rewinding videos but he can’t rewind what he does in real life)? Perhaps he does know the difference and it is the real violence, the real death that excites him most (the replaying of the pig video for instance).

Video in this movie is pervasive; he’s constantly videoing himself - while he talks to the girl and shows her the gun you can also see them on the screen in the background. Aspects of this reminded me of Peeping Tom. Video replaces real life relationships. He’s left alone for the weekend with only a note from his parents. There’s a scene where they eat dinner and nobody speaks at all. It’s as much the neglect and lack of family warmth as the videos. In the 90s the idea of ‘video nasties’ were a real fear. There were real life cases of kids like Benny who killed other kids after being influenced by watching violent videos in the news.

There were times when it felt too long, too slow, especially after the key incident of the killing - random scenes of Benny eating breakfast or lying in bed didn’t add much as it was hard to get any sense of his state of mind at these points. And the seemingly endless scenes of him in Egypt. In the end it becomes as much about the parents’ reaction and cover-up as about Benny. There’s a certain ironic dark humour in the scene where the father harangues him for his haircut talking about rules and rebellion with no idea what Benny has really done. And again when
WARNING: "Benny’s Video" spoilers below
the father is trying to coolly reason through the problem and says that the best Benny could hope for if they turn him in is psychiatric care - and that would ruin his life! Clearly it’s exactly what he does need.
Interesting that they don’t ever seem to think of taking his video equipment away.

Altogether I appreciated this film more than I thought I would.



movies can be okay...
It seems that I'm the only one in the world, who doesn't feel this angry and judging gaze of Haneke, throughout viewing his movies (except for maybe Funny Games). Does this mean I hate myself, so he pities me for that, and doesn't even bother?



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
The Japanese were in their own class of barbarity. Read about The Rape of Nanking to mention just one atrocity. Don’t forget their brutal treatment of women. Using Korean women as so-called comfort women. There has to be some honor in war & the Japanese had none.
Actually had read about the Rape of Nanking - truly appalling stuff!!



I totally find Haneke a very nasty, ugly filmmaker. I think there's value in that though as life isn't always pretty. Completely agree with this for example (Major Amour Spoilers don't read if you haven't seen it):

WARNING: "Amour" spoilers below
If only some of the uninhibitedly energetic thought and insight of these actors had found its way into Haneke’s movie. Instead, the director films his elderly couple with a superficial simulacrum of wisdom and experience, strips them of traits in order to reduce them to the function of the film to render the appalling act justifiable, to strip out the appearance of mixed emotions. And yet, what comes through is that Haneke likes filming a killing, takes a smirkingly ghoulish look at the act, and takes unconscious pleasure in the unconscionable. As Georges smothers the incapacitated Anne under a pillow, her legs kick in resistance: she may be willing to die, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready to stop living. Nothing in Georges’s demeanor suggests anything but the desire to end Anne’s misery, in defiance of any objection the world might make. How he faces that opprobrium, or the force of law, we can only imagine. Haneke either knows and doesn’t show it, or doesn’t bother to imagine it; but, for him, it doesn’t matter. He has had his fun. He has shown murder and made his viewers love it, has brought them into complicity with his smirkingly ghoulish pleasure. The hollowness of the contrivance conceals the grotesquerie of the sacralized Grand Guignol. Where “Django Unchained” suggests Quentin Tarantino’s unconscious delight in the unconscionable “Amour” reflects Haneke’s calculated desire to stir up a reaction by way of a cynical ambiguity, to recalibrate a moral shock with an overwhelming preponderance of mitigations.

Would the ostensible mercy killing appear less justified if the couple were longtime fans of yé-yé or Plastic Bertrand rather than Schubert, if they casually flung political opinions of any stripe, if they confided in friends, if their discussions with doctors were observed—in short, if they seemed to live anything other than a life of hermetic perfection? The vision of marital love in “This Is 40” is vastly more complex; the vision of the political, historical, moral, and emotional volcano underlying dignified artistic urbanity is much deeper in Miguel Gomes’s “Tabu.” In “Amour,” there is one cinematic coup that lives in memory: the dance-like, erotic embrace that’s held in long shot as Georges raises Anne from the wheelchair and moves her across the room. It’s a grand moment of acting, well-conceived by Haneke—although it, too, is emptied out by its isolation, which reduced the embrace to a flimsy symbol of the couple’s erotic bond transferred into another sort of physical devotion.

The subject of “Amour” is powerful and true; the decline and degradation, through illness, of a spouse, a close relative, or a friend, is among the agonies of modernity, as sophisticated medical care extends the duration of life even at the price of extended suffering, preserves the body even as the soul seems to slip away—and those closest to the patient find that their role in his or her care shifts from beholding the agony to abetting it. That’s what makes Haneke’s rigid contrivances—the pristinely repressed and filtered script and images, the directorial straight face held with iron bands to suppress laughter—all the more repellent.



Actually had read about the Rape of Nanking - truly appalling stuff!!
Pretty sure Citizen was asking about Korea in particular not Japanese atrocities in general for the record. He nominated The Flowers of War for a Hall of Fame which is about the Rape of Nanking.