| Michael Haneke Photo Credit: Yves Montmayeur |
2013, 93 minutes
Not Rated
Review by Joshua
Handler
Michael H. Profession:
Director is a really interesting new documentary about Oscar-nominated
director Michael Haneke, best known for writing and directing Amour, Caché, and The White Ribbon. This film was made by Haneke’s long-time
friend, Yves Montmayeur who interviewed Haneke and his actors and filmed Haneke
working on every film of his professional career. What results is an interesting and rich, if
not quite penetrating enough, portrait of one of the most acclaimed
provocateurs working in cinema today.
Haneke’s films are known to shock due to their unsettling
themes and sudden bursts of disturbing violence. When many of these shocking scenes were shown
during Michael H., many audience members
gasped in horror, showing the effectiveness of Haneke’s technique.
Films like Caché
and Funny Games are cold explorations
of terror and violence. Haneke’s other
films are no more fun, but no less brilliant.
One would think that the man behind these horrifying films would be as
cold and calculating as his films, but to my surprise he isn’t. The film shows him constantly laughing with
his actors and smiling. In one scene, a
teenage actor finished his last scene for Haneke’s Code Unknown and Haneke puts his arm around the boy and makes a
great scene to congratulate the boy.
Michael H. delves
into each of Haneke’s films, and I mean every single one. Using interviews, behind the scenes footage,
and actual film footage, Montmayeur shows glimpses into Haneke’s creative
process. Haneke himself explains quite a
bit about his films, but is very careful not to go into too much detail and
give away his own complete interpretation.
Haneke’s own unwillingness to interpret his films harms the film in a
way because it doesn’t penetrate deep enough.
Also, while it is interesting to see Haneke work on all of his films, I
would have liked to see him focus on one or two films, maybe The White Ribbon and Amour because it would have allowed the
audience to learn about Haneke’s filmmaking process from the beginning to the
end of a film, instead of giving brief looks at all of the films (this approach
is also somewhat tedious). I would have
also liked to learn more about how Haneke works with actors. The performances in his films have won
multiple awards at the Cannes Film Festival and one has even been nominated for
an Oscar (Emmanuelle Riva in Amour). Haneke obviously has a way with actors, as
not every director would be able to direct actors through such tough material, and
seemingly with ease. Had the film gone
more in depth with how Haneke works with actors, it would have felt like a more
complete portrait.
Overall, Michael H.
Profession: Director is a very solid, yet not great documentary that
explores the career and the man behind some of the greatest films of all time. Getting a rare glimpse of this master at work
was enlightening, and this should be considered is a must-see for fans of Haneke,
yet should be avoided by those that either dislike his films or have not seen
them because naturally there are major spoilers for his films in this
documentary.
3/4
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