:
Isabelle Huppert,
Isabelle Huppert,
Maurice Benichou,
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:
Michael Haneke,
Michael Haneke
see all cast/crew...
: 
: Palm Pictures
: Drama, Foreign, Post-Apocalypse, France
: 109 min.
: French
: English
see additional details...
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On the heels of his award-winning, emotionally devastating 2001 drama The Piano Teacher, German filmmaker Michael Haneke weaves this disturbing tale of a family forced into a harrowing confrontation with a group of strangers set against the backdrop of a global apocalypse. In the aftermath of an unseen but catastrophic global disaster, a shaken family slowly makes their way to the presumed safety of a holiday home in the French countryside. Upon arrival, the family discovers their home inhabited by a woman and a horrified man. When a shot rings out, a life is taken, and time seems to stand still. In the aftermath of unspeakable violence, it appears that the only hope for a band of desperate refugees lies in a nearby train station and a locomotive that -- despite their most optimistic hopes and prayers -- may never actually arrive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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| A strong film with some troubling scenes
by textheavy
February 14, 2006 - 11:01 PM PST
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There is footage in this film of a horse being shot in the head and its throat being slit with a knife. If this would upset you, you should avoid this film.
If you can get past this, you are in for a bleak, tense film that starts with an unimaginably horrible and shocking situation, and settles into a steady story of little hope and much desperation.
Not to say that it isn't a fascinating portrayal of the veneer of civilization suddenly cracking and falling away. There is much in this film that makes it worth watching, especially for anyone who loves stories in which society breaks down and people are left to struggle with their own morality while they weigh the value of community.
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| A little hope this time?
by brakhage
March 7, 2005 - 1:31 PM PST
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4 out of 7 members found this review helpful
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| Another sunny adventure with the Austrian master of doom Michael Haneke, reunited here with The Piano Teacher's Isabelle Huppert who's one of the best and most intense actresses alive. In the DVD extras Huppert and Haneke talk about how they wanted to make this film together before The Piano Teacher, but decided to do that film first since they couldn't get funding at the time for this one. They also talk about the film's underlying humanity, which is a new development in Haneke's work - the strangest thing about this film is how well everyone keeps it together in the face of the (unspecified) apocalypse. (I would not say this means the film is Haneke Lite, as there is a lot of traumatic stuff, which is typical for him, concerned as he is with what happens when the niceties of civilization are stripped away from people.) The editing rhythm is still extremely disjointed, with each transition from one major scene to the next happening at a moment to maximize shock and confusion, which to me is one of the more interesting things he does - but since I've seen just about everything he's done, I'm a bit jaded and was expecting those shock cuts (Code Unknown makes really nice use of this technique). The extras feature footage from a cameraman wandering around watching Haneke work, which is a treat even if it doesn't really qualify as a documentary, since nobody is really interviewed or even miked closely. The Haneke and Huppert interviews are interesting only to see that Haneke is a pretty jolly guy. Time of the Wolf didn't floor me like The Seventh Continent or Funny Games, but it's still a decent film from one of the more interesting directors working. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.75)
76 Votes
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