Movie Type: Psychological Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama
Themes: Post-Apocalypse, Class Differences, Death of a Partner
Main Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Maurice Bénichou, Lucas Biscombe, Patrice Chéreau, Béatrice Dalle
Release Year: 2003
Country: DE/FR/AT
Run Time: 109 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
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
Review
Like Funny Games, Michael Haneke's Time of the Wolf begins with a comfortable bourgeois family arriving at their second home in the country, and being met by unexpected and shocking violence. But, while Funny Games was a sadistic exercise in punishing audience manipulation, Time of the Wolf is a thought-provoking allegory with a surprising degree (for Haneke) of humanity. Certainly, there are disturbing images, and the film makes no concessions to audience comfort in either its story or its almost impenetrably dark visuals. "You really don't know what's going on, or are you just stupid?" asks a character of Anne (Isabelle Huppert) early on, and this immediately gets at Haneke's underlying motivations in plunging his privileged European characters into a sudden third-world experience (brought on by a pointedly unexplained disaster). But the harshness of this query, with which Haneke interrogates his audience, is tempered by a clear-eyed sympathy for his characters, particularly Anne's children, the sensitive Eva (Anaïs Demoustier), and the traumatized Ben (Lucas Biscombe). While this marks a positive development in Haneke's development as a filmmaker (one need only look at cruel use of the young boy in Funny Games for contrast), what's most striking about the film is its brilliant imagery and inventive use of sound. In one scene, Anne searches frantically in the darkness for Ben using only a butane lighter. We can barely make out her image in the foreground, while in the background, off in the distance, we see Eva's tiny guiding bonfire burning in the blackness. In another scene, the sound of the frantic flapping of a pet bird's wings creates nearly unbearable tension. Without punishing the audience or resorting to cheap tricks, as he has in the past, Haneke has produced his most powerful and intensely cinematic work to date. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
