Funny Games

It seems that there is no modern director who makes a post-apocalyptic film like Michael Haneke. Granted, this thriller isn't technically a post-apocalyptic film, but it might as well be. It all begins when a well-to-do German family drives up to their summer home by the lake. A young man comes to the door asking to borrow some eggs. Soon his friend shows up. Then the games begin as the two young men begin a relentless cycle of psychological torment on this family all while keeping polite smiles on their faces. Haneke's direction is certainly effective, perhaps a little bit too effective at times. It's too bad though that the film is cold as ice and painfully hopeless -- if it didn't have the gall to smile at itself in the end, it may well leave the audience wanting to reach for the nearest razor. At least his Time of the Wolf (which actually is a post-apocalyptic film) ended on a note that left room for hope.