For our next film in this Back to School series of reviews, let’s take a look at the 1992 Austrian film, Benny’s Video.  It’s a dark and disturbing film about murder and the death of morality.

“A disturbing Austrian film about murder and the death of morality?!” you’re saying, “What is this!?  A Michael Haneke film!?”

Well, as a matter of fact, it is.  Benny’s Video was Haneke’s second film and one of the interesting things about it is that it reveals that, even this early in his cinematic career, Haneke was already a master at telling stories about characters estranged from society.  Benny’s Video is remarkably assured film but it’s also one that is so disturbing that you may never want to watch it for a second time.

Benny is a an affluent teenager.  He’s obviously intelligent and he has friends but, from the minute we meet him, we can tell that there is something off about Benny.  Maybe it’s the flat monotone that he uses to express his thoughts.  Maybe it’s the cold and rather pitiless look of his eyes and the way that Benny always seems to be on the outside observing his family and friends.  Or maybe it’s the fact that, when we first meet Benny, he is obsessively watching and rewatching a video of pig being slaughtered with a bolt pistol.

When his parents go out of town for the weekend, Benny meets a girl (Ingrid Stassner) outside a video store.  He brings her back to his house and, while his own cameras record the action, Benny shows her the footage of the pig being slaughtered.  He tells her that he’s never actually seen a dead body but he knows “the tricks they use in action films” to make someone appear dead.  He then shows her that he has a bolt gun of his own.  As opposed to what happened to the pig, it takes three shots from the bolt gun to kill the girl.

Benny, who seems to be as confused by his actions as we are, puts the body in a closet and then goes out to a club.  He sees a movie.  He visits with friends.  He gets his head shaved.  And when his parents return home and snap at him for his new haircut, he shows them the video of him killing the girl.

Amazingly enough, the murder is not the most disturbing part of the film.  What’s far more disturbing is the way his parents react.  After sending Benny to his room, they sit at the kitchen table.  Benny’s father (Ulrich Muhe) starts to calmly discuss their options and points out that, if Benny’s crime is discovered, they could be held responsible.  Benny’s mother (Angela Winkler) is much more shaken by Benny’s crime.  When, in a state of shock, she starts to giggle at her husband’s dispassionate demeanor, he snaps at her to remain calm…

And, seriously, it is so disturbing to watch!  Haneke directs the film in an understated, almost documentary-like fashion and Arno Frisch gives a performance that somehow manages to be both compelling and soulless at the same time.  Benny remains a mystery to not only his parents and the audience but to himself as well.  Much like Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, Benny’s Video invites us to consider the enormity of a destructive act without offering any easy answers as to why the act happened in the first place.

Benny’s Video is a powerful film that will stick with you and one that shows that, even early in his career, Michael Haneke was a cinematic force to be reckoned with.