“The Seventh Continent” (1989) by Michael Haneke

It Takes Some Courage to Watch a Michael Haneke Film

It’s apt to speak of courage because watching a film by Michael Haneke always requires some sort of fortitude. Invariably, some kind of violence awaits.

So I knew when I read the description of this film by the Criterion Collection channel, as the film is said to “build to an annihilating encounter with the televisual void that powerfully synthesizes Haneke’s ideas about the link between violence and our culture of manufactured emotion.”

Eh, someone goes postal and kills some innocent bystanders at the bus stop in Vienna. Big deal. I can handle that.

A Summary of The Seventh Continent

Note to reader, the following summary of the film The Seventh Continent does not pretend to be exhaustive. It has left out some parts, included a funny scene in which an old woman explains how she was cursed to have to wear glasses.

“Erstes Teil, 1987” Or, Alles Gut! [Everything is Great!]

From the beginning you watch and see the “manufactured emotions” in the humdrum monotony of bougie Austrian existence. The film begins with a car’s license plate being hosed down by an automatic car wash. Slowly we watch the parts of the car going through the car wash. “Nicht Bremsen.” The car exits and turns past a sign promotional billboard with a beach that says, “Welcome to Australia.”

[Not until after the film is over, does it occur to me that is says Australia and not Austria — I first thought it said welcome to Austria, not even asking why the English writing would say “welcome to Austria.” Because of course Australia is the seventh continent. Even if, here, the seventh continent means destroying all of the pieces of one’s own life, every material good, before taking one’s life.

A brilliant set of scenes in which people get out of bed, have breakfast, feed the fish, leave the house, drop off the daughter at school, let off the wife at the business, watch the husband arrive at work.

[Here I marvel to myself how immediately apparently the genius of Haneke is, even back in the stone age of 1987, as each of these scenes is mostly shot with attention not to faces, but to door handles, mugs hanging with toothbrushes, the opening of the garage door, the exiting of the daughter from the car shot from across the street, just as the shot of Anna left off at her business.

[In short, there aren’t really people here. Or rather, if you thought personhood required faces and characters, you’ll be disappointed.]

In the midst of this, the voiceover of the daughter in law, Anna, writing a letter to Georges’ parents. That Anna’s brother Alexander had gone through a stultifying emotional crisis after the death of their mother. Had been hospitalized with “terrible” treatments. But, that he’d gotten better with the passing of time. That Georges’ ambition at work had not been forestalled by a difficult supervisor desperately clinging to his position. And that Eva, their “problem child,” had overcome her asthma.

But then we see Eva at school, pretending to be blind. And Alexander comes to dinner and things are going swimmingly, until he breaks down.

[Here I begin thinking about how differently Anna relates to Eva, first asking her if she is “verrückt” in pretending to be blind. And, most importantly, how insightfully Haneke taps into the strange vertigo of being a child, being told that nothing that you do matters, being surrounded by things that matter.]

“Zweiter Teil, 1988” Or, The Dread of Human Existence Confronted

George and Anna are having sex. Waking up. It’s raining. Having breakfast. Leaving for work. Eva feeds the fish in the very large fish tank [50 gallons?]

Again Georges at work with Anna’s voiceover, writing her letter to his parents, explaining that he’d been promoted, his former supervisor left work because of illness, his new boss is a gourmand and they’ve invited him and his wife for dinner.

Anna picks up Georges at work. [Wait, what? Didn’t George drop her off?] It’s still raining. Cats and dogs. They’ve picked up Eva and are driving home. But an accident slows their way home. A dead body beside the road, covered with plastic. A wrecked car. Polizei.

They are in a car wash, again. Anna begins crying.

[I wonder if this occurs a day later or if this occurs after having passed the wrecked car. But the grammar of film leads one to believe that adjoining scenes occur at the same time, right? Yet now, why would you get a car wash after driving home in the rain.]

“Dritter Teil, 1989” Or How To Destroy Your Material Existence.

They are leaving Georges’ parents home, packing the car. No faces until we need to see the parents waving after them. They complain that Georges will never write them.

Georges driving his new car to work, where he begins voicing over the letter to his parents, about their imminent departure: that he has quit his position, that Anna has sold her part of the business to her brother. That they had had much difficulty deciding what to do about Eva, should they take her with her.

[It’s about this time that I suspect what end is in store, and remarking how stupid is the idea of a Michael Haneke film festival, and how the idea of watching several of these films in a row is D-U-M-B. I’m such a fool.

[Dread. I mean, yes, I highly esteem Michael Haneke. But I too am a delicate flower. I prefer not for children to be involved. I mean, Oldboy (2003) and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002). Hell yes! But not Lady Vengeance (2005) weil Kinder!]

Anna informs Eva’s school that she is quite sick and will be absent for more than a few days. Georges purchases all of the tools that one might need in order to destroy all of one’s worldly possessions.

[Aber ich bin verrückt and naturally wonder if these will be used for destroying human bodies

They sell the brand new car, with the buyer checking out the car at a junkyard while Eva stands amidst the wreckage of other automobiles.

[I worry that Eva may get hit by the car as its test-driven]

George and Eva arrive home by taxi, just as a van delivers many sumptuous foods. The family eats well and goes to bed. The phone rings and Georges answers, immediately hanging up, then not putting the phone back on the receiver. [Cannot receive calls now, new people]

The next morning the destruction begins. Georges reminds Eva to wear her heavy shoes for fear she may get hurt.

Records broken by Anna. Children’s books, drawings, destroyed by Eva. George takes apart chests of drawers, submits them to the violence of a sledgehammer. A couch ripped apart. A vanity’s mirror shattered. Its drawers each ripped apart. Pictures taken off the wall [although not destroyed]. Collections of personal photographs, each individually ripped in half.

[Should say that this scene is extended, but shot in just the same way as the beginning. No faces. Just hands and things being torn, shredded, cut, clipped, stabbed, hammered

A crash, Anna’s cry “No!”, and the magisterial fish tank is no more. Water all over the floor, but more importantly, all of those fish falling among the vestiges of a human life. Flopping on ripped rugs. Drowning of oxygen on the remainders of a broken piece of furniture

[I think, pansyass that I am, I hope no fish were hurt during the making of this film. Yes, dumbass, those fish were put back into water right after this scene was filmed. And they were paid hazard pay for being forced to flop around on a floor, drowning in air.]

A toilet where Geld is being flushed. First the paper bills, then the Kleingeld.

[I think, but why would they waste all of that Geld. Couldn’t they give it to Alexander? Why destroy all of it? But they have made a decision they plan to see through. I think, what of Alexander? If you thought his mother’s death would traumatize him, wait for him to learn that his sister, her husband and their daughter have taken their lives after systematisch each minute piece of their lives razing.]

Should I say what else happens? Eva drinks something bitter. Then Anna drinks something bitter. Then Georges. He throws up, takes what’s leftover of the pills that they’ve been hoarding, planning for this moment. Writes on the wall, “Eva, 11/11/89 22:00. Anna, 11/12/89 2:00. Georges … 2

Georges is on the bed next to the bodies of his dead wife and daughter, propped up watching a television, it seems, but the television is showing only snow. Shot of his face. [Is he still alive?] Montage amidst the shot of the television and the wall behind it of scenes from his life, all from scenes in the film, ending with the image of the poster of Australia. Static television in front of the bedroom wall. Then, just static. [Fourth wall, anyone?]

Note to Self: Never Plan a Michael Haneke Film Festival