71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) + Extras
DVDRip | MKV | 720 x 404 | x264 @ 2000 Kbps | 95 min | 1,48 Gb + 370 Mb
Audio: German AAC 2.0 @ 125 Kbps | Subs: English (embedded)
Genre: Art-house, Drama | Michael Haneke
DVDRip | MKV | 720 x 404 | x264 @ 2000 Kbps | 95 min | 1,48 Gb + 370 Mb
Audio: German AAC 2.0 @ 125 Kbps | Subs: English (embedded)
Genre: Art-house, Drama | Michael Haneke
This cerebral Austrian mystery, by avant-garde director Michael Haneke, will disturb those viewers with the patience to wade through it. The film begins with a grisly mass killing. It was Christmas eve 1993 and a 19-year old student inexplicably murders several people and then kills himself. The fragmented film flashes back to October 12 and then progresses toward the fateful night. Throughout the film many characters appear and suddenly reappear. A homeless teenaged Romanian exile roaming Vienna's streets and begging provides continuity. Each fragment begins with a newscast that functions as a surreal Greek Chorus One shows footage of the war in Sarajevo, and the other is a story about Michael Jackson.
I saw this film last night and I found it very inspirational. I adore Haneke and the subject matter he chooses. For me this was completely gripping from the beginning. I loved the clarity of the scenes and the honest depiction of the various characters was chilling in parts. There is so much packed in this film I came away full of ideas. Two scenes stick in my head. The first is a scene at a kitchen table where a man tells a woman he loves her. I found it very realistic and its portrayal of this married couple was for me brutal but unflinching in its directness about the lives that we lead and the cages we build for ourselves. The second scene is an amazing shot of a character playing table tennis against an automatic opponent. It's a great shot. It's a shot that says so much. As it continues we as a viewer concentrate more on the character's face and what is written on it. Pain, anguish, fear and despair. A man so locked onto a path that he realises (perhaps in this scene) he is no longer able to return to normality. I waited for him to become exhausted but he never does and Haneke cuts the scene with him still playing, hoping perhaps the machine will break but not able to control what now controls him. As far as I know he may have gone on for hours more. A superb insight into a character's psyche encapsulated in one shot. A shocking ending rounds off a well constructed film that tries to explain why some of these events happen and does so in a thought-provoking way. There is never a dull moment in this film and I would recommend it to anyone as essential viewing. The film speaks for itself.
(click to enlarge)
71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (1994) 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls
My own rip from DVD located here
Extras:
- Interview with Michael Haneke (23:30, in French with English subs)