Michael Haneke has disturbed me again with Benny's Video.
So having watched Funny Games, I wanted to watch another film by this director and from the first scene…I was petrified of how disturbing this film was going to be.
Benny’s Video is a disturbing movie that looks at issues such as media desensitization & identity. The film is a character study of someone who becomes so engrossed in the movie world that the lines blur to the extent that murder occurs. I was truly affected by how Micheal Haneke directed this film and how the events unfolded.
The opening shot encapsulates one of the main elements of the film. The film starts with a horrifying scene of a pig being shot to death with Benny filming the moment. It's a scene that Benny plays repeatedly, is inspired by & desensitised by however I was watching with my eyes closed every time. World of Film highlights the point that this is what Hanke is known for, the disturbing films that challenge the viewers but at the same time like Benny are somehow still watching this realistic unnerving content unfold. They argue that this shot challenges the “notion that films should be a form of entertainment” (Tuffs,2016.) This is what makes Haneke's films work because they challenge the viewer & make us question ourselves throughout.
This opening shot and the character Benny highlight a world where a younger generation becomes desensitised to the content they see online. An example that reflects our society is becoming desensitized to news stories. As we live in a world where there are continuously horrific events and now war, which creates horrifying content, it is not surprising that there is less of an impact when viewing all of these events unfold(though this still does not take away how horrifyingly wrong or disturbing the content may be.) This has been proven many times with an example by Erica Scharrer who found out that there is emotional tolerance linked with “repeated exposure to violence” and thus “diminished physiological response['s]” on disturbing content (Scharrer,2008.) This is what makes the opening scene and Benny’s video haunting as there could be people who see the opening shot and not look away though there is a bit of Benny inside us as we have all become immune.
When looking at Benny as a character it shows his lack of emotional response to distressing things (including killing someone) but also what is yet to be highlighted are his parents. Most of this is taken from this brilliant video essay by Neon Filmosphy but he questions the parents and talks about the theme of identity. He argues that Benny has a lack of identity and is mainly been influenced by his upper-class ordinary parents. His parents have enabled him by buying a huge amount of filming equipment and also neglecting him while they are away together. This could be seen as influencing his rebellious nature with him shaving his head, punching someone at school and then committing murder. In a part highlighted in the film when asked why he did it Benny replies “I don’t know. I wanted to see what it’s like, probably…” which showcases someone not only desensitised but someone who has no identity (Filmosophy,2021.) The parents are absent, orderly, and not entirely friendly and upon hearing the crime their son commented creepily calm. There is a strong theme of identity & why our protagonist is who he has become. This now becomes alarmingly scary when looking at how children are treated/neglected by parents can have an impact on them committing crimes. Relating to Benny's Video, Haneke has taken this awful side of society and played an overly extreme narrative but argued a possible story which is why Benny's Video is more incredibly unsettling.
When it comes to the style of the film you can not help but truly get creeped out by Micheal Haneke's style. There's something to how colour just lacks in this film making every scene just more cold and bleak. With the use of handheld cameras mostly used by Benny, surveillance cameras, camera graininess in some scenes, and the bleakness of it all, Haneke truly takes a dark story and makes it even more difficult to watch. Haneke also is very clever in what he shows the viewers but more importantly, what is out of shot. This not only makes the film more challenging with examples including the actual murder or when the parents are discussing what their son has done. It is moments that Benny is shockingly filming but the shots are mostly dark with small amounts of light as we listen to a killing or parents chillingly discuss their approach. In an interview, Haneke states that “In cinema, the viewer is the director’s victim” (Perez,2013.) In this film, the opening shot alone displays this but he continuously keeps things out of view, jarring us with unnerving moments with the style Haneke is known for. It is truly like we are trapped in Hanke's cruel world when watching this.
In conclusion, Benny's Video is aimed at people who love movies that will stick with them, challenge them and send chills down their spine. Micheal Haneke truly is incredible at creating these types of films from its script to style, the film is just expertly done. As stated it is aimed at certain people meaning it's difficult to recommend to people that it's worth checking out.
There is a lot to pull from this film but I aim to write an article a week (Mon-Mon) and this is how much I have gotten. I felt this is a cohesive piece that explores why it's disturbing compared to producing a long analysis essay.
References
Filmosophy, N. (2021) Benny’s video — identity, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV7HKQLQpeQ (Accessed: 03 January 2024).
Perez, Rodrigo. (2013). Review: ‘Michael H. Profession: Director’ Is An Interesting But Never Essential Portrait Of Michael Haneke. Available from: https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/review-michael-h-profession-director-is-an-interesting-but-never-essential-portrait-of-michael-haneke-98582/. [Accessed: 5/1/2024].
Sharrer, Erica, (2008) “Media exposure and sensitivity to violence in news reports: Evidence of desensitization?”. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 31.
Tuffs, Darrell (2016) Why Am I Still Watching This?Available from: https://aworldoffilm.com/2016/05/10/why-am-i-still-watching-this-by-darrell-tuffs/. [Accessed: 3/1/2024].