After the runaway success of Caché Michael Haneke seems content to take a bit of a break and remake his own disturbing take on the intersection of violence and entertainment; the now decade old Funny Games. By the look of the new trailer it is nearly shot-for-shot. To more clearly get the picture, check out the exactness to the 1997 trailer (both linked below). Of some concern in this new teaser - notice that the subtle menace of the wink to the camera in the original is more conceptually spelled out in the remake? Time with tell if this sets the tone of the English language version (only trailers at this point, and too soon to judge). Either way, the casting is spot on brilliant with Michael Pitt in the role of 'head white gloved guy' and Naomi Watts and Tim Roth in the victimized parents roles. It is a piece of essential cinema, as relevant now as it was in 1997, and if the remake exposes more people it to Haneke's work (Ahem. Time of the Wolf), this is a good thing.
[Source: Bloody Disgusting via Filmstalker]
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If he dropped the death metal from the soundtrack that'd be good. I thought scoring the family with classic and the two villains with death metal was extremely lame. Of course Haneke probably did it just to piss people off. I also didn't dig the breaking the fourth wall bit with the TV remote. Those were the only bits I didn't love about the original. Anyway, this is reportedly a 1:1 remake and Haneke himself refused to compete at Cannes saying he already did in 1997. The trailer is too artsy, Warner should market this to all the torture porn fans. I'd love to see this with an audience like that. I'd wear body amour though and make sure I sit close to the fire exit.
Actually I think the interesting thing about the remake, which obviously intends to have a much wider audience than the original, is that it is not marketed to the "torture porn fans." If this is a faithful adaptation and Haneke has not softened the approach, people are going to be pissed off! Although the trailer does not hide what the film is about, the tone of the trailer might be a little misleading. I want to going with a packed audience and see how people react. Who knows, maybe that is what this remake is all about for Haneke.
That's where I disagree with you Caterpillar and sarkoffagus.
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I felt the TV remote thing was a brilliant way to say to the viewer, you aren't in control, Hollywood endings and formulas aren't in control. The viewer thinks he knows how things are playing out because he has seen so many movies that go the same way. By taking that away from them they feel helpless and don't know what's coming next. Just like the ending when he throws her overboard. No fancy speech, no score to underline the mood, no fancy camera angles as well. Just in the water and that's it, the movie is over.
I'm going off on a tangent right now, but I'd just like to say that I appreciate being able to discuss a film and for everyone to state their beliefs without resorting to personal attacks just because we disagree. That's why I love this website so much. The posters are so respectful to one another.
Not sure, but I think the average twitch reader is over 30, whereas a lot of the other genre-sites (AICN in particular, but others as well) have a younger age base. Not that young necessarily equals childish. It is just that when there is a large distribution across an age group, the top of the bell tends to be that way. Just a thought.
the trailer, isn't it very Kubrickish?
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I love the trailer, and I loved the original. I'm kind of on the fence about the remote control bit though. I understand why he did it and I think it actually took balls to do it, but at the same time, I can really see people getting pulled right out of the experience by it. I mean, there are ways that aren't meta but would be just as effective to convey the same point.
And more importantly for me, the intense experience of everything that came before was undercut by the remote. It distanced me from the proceedings and kind of took out any of the intensity that was there. I understand that point of showing the audience that they're not in control and that there won't be a happy ending, but I think it takes away some of the gut-punch that WOULD have been there with them unceremoniously dumping her overboard.
So basically, I appreciate it artisically more than being affected by it emotionally.
Garth: I think you've nailed the sort of angle that Haneke approaches makeing a film, at least from my perspective that sort of gut punch but analytical at the same time. Certainly that is on display big-time in Cache.