By: Bob Foale

Bob Foale — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 09:23:12 +0000

As I commented in the film notes, this was the first Haneke film for years not to win an award when it was presented at Cannes and the general opinion is that this film appears to reference most of his previous work (it was only on my second viewing that I realised that the ‘story’ Georges tells to Eve is basically the outline of the film ‘Amour’ (hence Haneke dangles the carrot that the Georges in both films may be the same person, although the only hint of him being a music lover is the viola da gamba performance given – by Thomas’s secret lover – at his birthday party).
Once again, I was amazed at the strong performance by the youngest member of the cast, Fantine Harduin, seemingly unfazed by the stellar cast around her. Strangely, I recalled it being Thomas Laurent looking back in horror at his daughter passively filming her grandfather as the final shot at the end of the film, when in fact it was Anne, her aunt.

Comments on: Audience reactions to Happy End

By: Bob Foale