Verdilac

I loved this movie. To be sure, during the first half hour or so, I was bored with it, and wondering how much good could come out of this story. Soon enough, though, the film explodes into a wonderful exploration of the levels of reality, which becomes its best feature.

The film continually rips away layers, each time forcing the viewer to change their reality reference point in the film.

Their is a sort of carthisis as the film draws to a close, but this is quickly destroyed. Even to the last moment, when characters played by Leigh and Law point their guns menacingly out into the audience, we have been interacting with the movie in very much the same way as the characters interact with the game.

We have come to the theatre to witness a different version of reality, one that is by no means real, simply pictures run across lifeless celuloid. After we leave the movie, it takes us a while to readjust ourselves to reality. And we pay to have this done to us. What Cronenburg has done is to work deeper into this theme, developing layers of reality, weaving his way throughout them, and in the end, extending his picture into real life, in the same way that Leigh's character comments, "a cheap mechanical method" to heighten the level of arousal of the next sequence.

Absolutely brilliant. I will see it many more times.

I saw Funny Games this evening and left saddened, knowing that these types of film won't be showing at the local theatre anytime soon. Funny Games is a brilliant return to the avant garde, bringing back the creativity and ingenuity to film that is nonexistent in today's film industry. The remote control rewinding the movie, and the quote "But we're not at feature film length yet" were absolutely magnificent. This is a must see for anyone intrested in seeing creative progress in film. I am not saying that film should be brutally violent, but it should aspire to the level of genius in Michael Haneke's Funny Games.

I think Happiness is a great film, and should not be judged on its ability to entertain audiences. Todd Solonz does a brilliant job in forcing us to look into the awkward nature of human psychology from which we normally turn our heads in disgust. Billing this film as a comedy would be quite a mistake, but as a drama is certainly holds its own weight. The scene where the father is confessing himself to his son is one of the most well done scenes I've seen in any movie to date. The film is a study of life, which we tend to sugar-coat all to often. While audience members may cringe at some of the on screen depictions, this is only because of our realization of the awkwardness of our own nature. If you are planning on seeing a film for entertainment, watch Beauty and the Beast. However, if you are interested in a very well done drama about America (for better or worse), and have the ability to take it straight, Happiness should not be missed.