After seeing Michael Haneke’s shot by shot remake of his 1997 film Funny Games this weekend I started doing a little internet hunting to see what others had to say about the film, it’s take on violence and how it worked as a remake. One of the most interesting pieces I found was in the Chicago Reader On Film Blog by Pat Graham. In his short blog entry he gives us:

Something to puzzle over …

No Country for Old Men: serial murderer, deaf to every human appeal for mercy, goes about his business with implacable dispatch”Academy Awards: best picture, best supporting actor, etc.

Michael Haneke’s Funny Games remake: serial murderers, deaf to every human appeal for mercy, go about their business with implacable dispatch”back of the critical hand, lots of righteous huffing and puffing, etc.

Not much difference between the two, at least in my opinion, yet one movie’s lionized, the other savaged as exploitive swill. Except arguably the Coens distance themselves more thoroughly from the corpse pile than Haneke ever could, who’s more into closing the empathy gap vis-a-vis. (Or is he?”more on that below.) And if human investment’s lacking it’s the Coens and their (modified) gargoyle brood who seem the more culpable parties. Score one for the vilified Austrian there. [Chicago Reader]

Kind of an interesting point don’t you think?

The only thing making me question the remake was the use of Michael Pitt (one half of Pete and Paul) and Naomi Watts (mother Ann) in two of the leading roles. Both are well known (Watts arguably more) and both are no doubt admired and doted upon for their good looks. How does my predispostion to find Michael Pitt attractive effect how I view the film?

I will admit I found him more entertaining and funny than terrifying. Of course I went into the theater knowing exactly what to expect - any hope for Watts and her family the farthest thing from my mind, leaving me to take pleasure in Pitt and company’s smart mouthed reign of terror. In the original I had no prior relationship to any of the actors and a small sense of hope to get me through the two hours and influence my thoughts on the film itself.

What makes the remake of note to me is that what was once a small foreign art house film is now playing in lots of theaters across the country - meaning that the audience that Haneke seems intent to comment on might actually see the film. I have to wonder how many folks walked out of the film and what they thought. One thing that I’m not sure how to comment on is a “game” on the film’s official website where you make a torture video of sorts for someone you want to victimize. I can’t help but see this as a hint that Warner Brothers wants us to take pleasure in Peter and Paul’s actions”..?

Regardless of how one feels about Funny Games, it does (and did) pave the way for discussion on violence in cinema and society. Watch the trailers from the 1997 version and the 2008 version below and to learn about an awesome organization and way you can help women combat violence (specifically sexual).