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Benny's Video (1992)
"Benny's Video" is an Austrian film about 14 year old Benny, who is obsessed with watching violent acts on film, to the point where he decides to commit murder in order to fulfil his fantasy.
(This review doesn't depict how I currently feel about the film, so check this link out to see my thoughts on it after a second watch: https://www.movieforums.com/communit...30#post1680030)
Similarly to Michael Haneke's other work "Funny Games", the film plays on the audience's predilection for violence, by presenting to us a video enthusiast who becomes eager to catalyse what he sees on tape, the director asks the viewer if the careless representation of violence in the media can lead to creating more psychopaths than ever, and the movie is essentially an argument for the case he's making, my personal answer would be no. This character study of Benny is a realistic take on the behaviour of a sociopath, it is also neatly acted considering the lead is only a teenager. Furthermore, Haneke conveys another statement on what would the modern bourgeoisie family do in such a situation, but he presents it in a hyperbolic manner that took me out of the invested state I was in. There are also a bunch of stale moments that don't really add anything to the story, yet are still in the final cut. The ending is what bumped my rating up a little bit, otherwise this would of been "Funny Games 2: The Prequel Sequel".
"Benny's Video" can be interesting at times, but the dull scenes are very overshadowing, not to mention, I got tired of the director constantly whacking my head with his message instead of delivering it subtly. This is a high Rental.
"Benny's Video" is an Austrian film about 14 year old Benny, who is obsessed with watching violent acts on film, to the point where he decides to commit murder in order to fulfil his fantasy.
(This review doesn't depict how I currently feel about the film, so check this link out to see my thoughts on it after a second watch: https://www.movieforums.com/communit...30#post1680030)
Similarly to Michael Haneke's other work "Funny Games", the film plays on the audience's predilection for violence, by presenting to us a video enthusiast who becomes eager to catalyse what he sees on tape, the director asks the viewer if the careless representation of violence in the media can lead to creating more psychopaths than ever, and the movie is essentially an argument for the case he's making, my personal answer would be no. This character study of Benny is a realistic take on the behaviour of a sociopath, it is also neatly acted considering the lead is only a teenager. Furthermore, Haneke conveys another statement on what would the modern bourgeoisie family do in such a situation, but he presents it in a hyperbolic manner that took me out of the invested state I was in. There are also a bunch of stale moments that don't really add anything to the story, yet are still in the final cut. The ending is what bumped my rating up a little bit, otherwise this would of been "Funny Games 2: The Prequel Sequel".
"Benny's Video" can be interesting at times, but the dull scenes are very overshadowing, not to mention, I got tired of the director constantly whacking my head with his message instead of delivering it subtly. This is a high Rental.