After having directed his infamous film FUNNY GAMES (1997) ten years ago, Austrian director Michael Haneke presents his new American version of the film to the world. But instead of creating a new interpretation, the director supposedly decided to recreate the original film almost shot by shot. The result is, that the current trailer looks like the film of 1997, only with different faces on the actors.
As far as the media discussion goes, this decision has been made because the original FUNNY GAMES never really reached American audiences, which the film actually was supposed to address. Haneke’s theme was – and still is – how cruelty and brutality are shown in today’s media works. He criticises by not showing it but eventually creating an atmosphere of physical and emotional pain within a nice neighbourhood house on the see.
If you did not catch FUNNY GAMES (1997) and have no way to see it in it’s original release, I strongly advise you to expose yourself to the new version FUNNY GAMES (2007) and start to get to know Haneke’s body of work. You might not like what you take from this film … but it’s what you maybe needed to start thinking about what media reality is all about.
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