***Very Depressing Story. Read at your own risk.***
Language - German | Director - Michael Haneke | Country - Austria | Genre - Drama Year - 1989
Before seeing any movie I always read a one-liner of the film, not even the trailer, just the poster is enough. I picked this film, when the IMDb one-liner said “A family trying to escape to Australia are caught in daily routine and plan something sinister”. This was the first film of Michael Haneke, the director of Amour, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2013.
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The film title started with the automatic car washing scene, we can see the silhouettes of a family inside the car. The entire washing is shown, I thought “It’s OK, the director is establishing something”. Then, next morning, Georg Schober (Husband) wakes up at 6 AM (of course we can see the clock alarm). We see Anna Schober (Wife) getting up, she then wakes their daughter, Eve Schober. All three goes into their morning chores, everyone gets ready for their respective daily routine (Work \ School) and have breakfast. All three get inside the car, Georg drops Ann in her work place and Eve in her school. All this happens in a day in 1987. The director goes into details for every movements they make in home, in car and in work.
The movie has ran for some 30 mins now. Cut to 1988. Same things as show before are repeated, get up, get ready, work, shopping and the night ends with dinner. The Ann invites her brother, Alex for dinner. This time Ann breaks down, when Alex asks about the food recipe, we assume Ann thought of her mother. Again everything is shown in details.
Cut to 1989. No wait, please!!!, I paused the film. 65-mins into movie, nothing substantial happen, there is no plot, no “what next” factor. I couldn't bear any more. I jumped to internet to read what happens in film on 1989.
Now, I am back to the movie, started it from where I left, 1989. It starts with Georg family visiting his mom and dad. They travel back to the city. The next day starts as usual and a voice-over of Georg writing a letter to his parents, that he is going to resign his job and they are going to move to a different place. Georg closes their bank account by withdrawing all money and sell the car. He then buys cutting tools, hammers, chainsaw. Ann while coming from work gets exotic foods.
Looks like they are going for some big one. That night, after having good food, the family, using the tools cuts-pulls-thrashes-hammers down every bit of things in their house. TV’-Music Systems are smashed, clothes are torn, mirrors are smashed into pieces. Remaining money is torn up and flushed, even the coins. Eve is poisoned by some kind of drink given by Ann. Ann then swallow pills and commits suicide. Georg, injects himself with poison and dies. THE END.
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This film is based on a true story in Austria, the case is closed as “unsolved”. No one knew why the family took this decision of self annihilation. The film too doesn't give any reason, the director just left it so open that we have to assume and make our own story of it.
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