Quote:
Originally Posted by Staal
I bet you could watch that movie, not having read a single review, not get the point and still like it.
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I think that's what Haneke was afraid of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Staal
But my question was just. Is there a any point to that bit where Paul (I believe that's his name) rewinds after his mate is shot?
I really did not understand that part.
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Paul rewinding the action serves as the final point in Haneke's statement: that we've been (and are) manipulated by cinema. The horrible things that they do to the family get you hating these two criminals, and you feel relief or satisfaction when Peter is shot (violence), a catharsis. But you've been manipulated. The director chose the actions to play out in such a way as to elicit this response in the viewer. So, Haneke shows us this by having Paul rewind the scene. That's what I was saying about him trying to show us how calmly and readily we take in violence through manipulation. When Paul rewinds the action, that's Haneke's intent with
Funny Games in a nutshell: Cinema (or effective cinema, anyway) molds our emotions and responses when we watch, and a product of this is our untroubled consumption of its violence. The point of that scene is to jostle us awake and into this realization.
This kind of "analysis of film within the film" is present in another film of his,
Caché. If you haven't seen
Caché, definitely watch it. Amazing film.
Anyway, that's awfully rambling, but I hope it makes sense.