Michael Haneke Interview (excerpt 2)

The problem is that when you first watch the movie, Haneke doesn't make any of his motives clear enough for you to care that much

So if i understand correctly , the remote control scene is a manifestation of ann's fantasy of killing him but it represents this as a fantasy?

hehe, squabbling old nannies, chya! i hated funny games at first, but now that i have a better understanding, i am in love with this director.

The film shows class power eating itself. It is within the very false egalitarian manners where a sense of propriety and distance are consistently re-produced at every moment (under the assumptions of "good and gentle manners", etc.) that a system of violence lives. The film proposes that this is just beneath the surface, and can possibly take on extreme manifestations. The psychos are the upper class brats who went 'out of control'.

man, Haneke is a bloody genious!

What the hell are you guys yabbering on about, like a pack of squabbling old nannies. geez louise. Settle down

I just watched the US version yesterday.
I disagree entirely. There is no 'acceptable' violence, or, anything remotely 'sexy' in this film.
Brilliant, disturbing, gripping, thought provoking, and, a breath of fresh air to counter the usual pap that comes out of the Hollywood movie machine.
One of the best films I've seen for a long time

That last line is arguable. I personally don't think the violence in this movie is acceptable at all. Definitely not sexy. This is the kind of movie you watch once. I won't rent it or buy it or go to see it again, but I'm glad I saw it once.

Taking any one line of what Haneke has said of out context can be easily misconstrued. You must listen to the whole interview (not saying you didn't) and remember everything he has said at once. Some of it is paradoxical/hypocritical...

but are we judging his reasoning, or the quality of the movie? It's not a typical movie because it tries to provide the viewer with an experience and a thought process, not entertainment... this is another concept which is very hard for people, understandably.

Chastening satire can be entertaining, XM. This film is very entertaining, it is also very disturbing. You are quite wrong to say it is not intended as entertainment. See all his other films too, if you haven't already. They are similarly compelling the gratuitous violence is unswervingly self-conscious. You seem to be taking a very rigid line of what constitutes entertainment or enjoyment.