Is it?

It is always an adventure to watch a Michael Haneke film. I must admit that the experience is not always a good one for me. There are quite a few films of his that I can’t stomach, that I find too violent. I know his philosophy (as I understand it) is to make us the audience think about why we watch that sort of violence when nobody’s forcing us, but sometimes it feels as if the point gets rammed home too much, as if it is actually Haneke himself who’s unhealthily obsessed with violence. That sort of leaves the ‘make the audience aware of their own motives’ philosophy with a bitter and unpleasant aftertaste.

But the thing is that Haneke has also made some truly beautiful films. Still a hard watch and very uncomfortable, but with a layering of emotions and empathy with the characters that they leave a lasting impression. For me, The Piano Teacher is one of those, as is Amour.

So yes, nobody’s forced me to watch yet another Haneke film, but curiosity made me see Happy End the other day. Sometimes referred to as Haneke’s Greatest Hits, and it is true that this film references some of his other films or repeats ways of bringing home a point. There’s a lot happening and many a character’s story to follow. There’s the now almost obligatory subject of France not dealing with its colonial past, which seems a little passé, and furthermore I would say that the apathy of the younger generation is a main theme. Rightly so, maybe, but it does not really make for an intense film.

Isabelle Huppert is in it, but she does not shine and never becomes her character, rather just remains Isabelle Huppert the actress. Jean-Louis Trintignant is in it and he is marvellous. Amazing! I could watch any film he is in, no matter for how short a period. That’s over 140 though, so maybe don’t hold me to that statement!

All in all the film plods along a bit and only at the very end does it become interesting when two stories come together to form a (happy?) end. It saves the whole film, to be honest, and makes it worthwhile to see the film again at some stage. Which I undoubtedly will. So I gave this film a 3 out of 5 initially but upon reflection and after the passage of time I think it is worth a 4 out of 5.

Adrian