Tockinit not horrible nor great

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

oOoBarracuda Benny's Video, the 1992 feature from director Michael Haneke, was the second installment in what many have called Haneke's Glaciation Trilogy. His feature debut, The Seventh Continent, Benny's Video, and the wordy 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance make up this "Glaciation Trilogy". The trilogy examines the postmodern world and the alienation and isolation of individuals within it. Benny's Video shows a maladjusted 14-year-old boy whose bedroom looks more like a television studio with cameras scattered about catching every possible angle both inside of his room and out. Benny has fully retreated into the screens that surround him, succumbing to the violent images he watches on repeat. Unable to connect or relate to those in the real world, Benny has manufactured a microcosm of his own he can retreat to. The problem is, eventually, Benny's fabricated existence does not prove fulfilling enough for him, and he decides he needs to bring in an outsider. Forever mysticised by a video of a slaughtered pig, Benny gets the idea to replicate the video on a human being. He seems engrossed by the idea of acting out the violence he spends his days watching and even more interested in the idea of dominating a living person. When he acts out this fantasy on an unsuspecting girl his age, the audience is left shocked by his parent's decision to cover-up Benny's crime, leaving us to wonder how isolated the entire family is from the world in which they live.Michael Haneke makes a frank commentary through Benny's Video about the constant media reporting of violent images and how such reporting leaves the audience desensitized to those images. This desensitization is just as much an issue today as it was 25 years ago when Haneke made his film. We hear about death in all of its explicit detail every day, but once the story is old news, it's on to the next in the endless cycle. Just one month ago in Las Vegas, a man opened fire on a crowd injuring 546 people, killing 58 before turning the gun on himself. Two weeks after the shooting, news outlets were filled with other stories, moved on from the devastation of that evening and covering the next story. Haneke was judicious to see that a 24-hour news cycle brought with it an oversaturation of violence leaving people unable to empathize with those they see through a screen, as they are constantly replaced by the next barrage of victims.In addition to the assessment on violent imagery, Benny's Video also delivers a heavy critique of the economic system, as well. Just as in his debut feature, Haneke criticizes money and the value placed upon it as he shows Benny, who obviously belongs to a wealthy family, and the flippant way he spends whatever money he comes into. Money is just as dispensable as the people in Benny's life, and he proves that by spending freely and rarely engaging in a meaningful way with the people that he fills his time with. In The Seventh Continent, Haneke exposes how much money we spend simply buying the necessities we need in order to live, conversely, in Benny's Video, Haneke reveals how we waste money on things we don't need in order to fill the time in our days. It is clear Haneke is still thinking about the meaningless of existence when it is so confined to the structure of society's expectations. The impossibility of living right in an unjust world is a theme continuously explored in Haneke's films. The impact of the economic system and its hold on morality is constantly scrutinized by Haneke.Alienation, isolation, and disconnect are also thoroughly explored throughout Benny's Video. Benny, even by the tender age of fourteen, had already alienated himself from society so much he struggled with meaningful connections when he was around people, a rare event in his life. The question remains, based on the lives of the adults Haneke presents, was Benny an outcast in his society based on his penchant for violent behavior, or had his immaturity simply prevented him from exhibiting such behavior in a more socially acceptable way? Haneke doesn't provide the answers, but by asking the question, he once again forces his audience into a much-needed self-examination. Benny spent most of his life isolated from other human beings. When he was home, he was alone and only viewed the world through the screens he surrounded himself with. When Benny was at school, he largely kept to himself and withdrew from most social interactions. The one friend he does spend a bit of time with, he simply exchanges the expected social niceties, always keeping himself from divulging anything too personal with the boy. Not only does Haneke explore open disconnect among people, but he also reveals how disconnected we are even when we appear to be connected. There is a moment where Benny is seen making plans with a school friend moments after committing murder. He doesn't let on that anything is remiss, exposing the fraud that Benny's social interactions actually are. Haneke, again, subverts the usually communal mealtime. Benny spends most of his time alone at his house while his parents spend most of their time at work. Benny's meals are set aside for him so he can microwave them after school. There exists no familial bonding over meals in Benny's family, revealing, in yet another way, that even the moments typically reserved for human connection can further produce isolation. Seeing the life of the adults in Benny's Video, cold and isolated, one is left to wonder how to thrive in such a society, and if murderous rage lurks beneath the societal expectations in all of us.

Maurizio I can't believe that this film is so high rated here, I just couldn't stand it, it was a pain to get to the end of it. An hour and a half of pure nothing, the story can be summarized in 2 lines, the actual events could have been squeezed in a 10 minutes short film. All the rest is useless crap: a cup of coffee on a table filmed for about 10 seconds, 2 full minutes of annoying arabian music with mother and son on the bed without uttering a word, long, unbearably long scenes where NOTHING at all happens, unexisting dialogue, unexpressive characters, everything about this movie is pure bore, tedium, humdrum.The twist end doesn't save the failure of what could have been a good story, if only it were brought on film in a different way. Sorry herr Haneke, I did like Funny Games, but this crap is unwatchable.

Jack Hawkins (Hawkensian) 'Benny's Video' is a genuinely unsettling film whose premise concerns a scene that is particularly disturbing and visceral. The film concentrates on Benny, a seemingly sociopathic teenager, and his regimented, staid parents known simply as 'Mother' and 'Father'. Benny lives a materially charmed life, having an array of electronics bought for him by his affluent middle class parents. This technology allows him to indulge in his interest, or rather obsession, with videos, both watching and recording them. The film's message is a relevant one, it suggests that the media has a detrimental, and in this case fatal, desensitising effect. However, it suggests this in a rather hyperbolic fashion. The film loses its credibility through how explicitly and rather insularly it conveys its message. In my opinion, it's clear that Benny is a warped individual with an innate lack of remorse, no film or news report can rid someone of their senses to the point of sociopathy. Benny is a contemptible person, and he's purposely constructed that way, but he isn't someone who's the product of desensitisation; his cold, empathy devoid persona is that of a genealogically tarnished mind.Narratively speaking, the film's first hour or so engrosses you with its unpleasantness and realism. The film places the viewer in a 'what if?' situation that's somewhat reminiscent of films such as 'Deliverance', but it isn't as resonant owing to the abhorrence of the film's events, the psychopathy of Benny and the steely reserve of his parents. During the last 40 minutes of the film, there is something of a pacing problem, I felt the film lost the edge and tension it had created; this isn't a particularly pressing issue, but the film certainly felt longer than 105 minutes. I found 'Benny's Video' to be a fundamentally flawed film; it would've worked if it had a more balanced, rational message at its core. Some lobbyists, in the haze of their ignorance and typically political agendas, would vehemently agree with this film. I am of the opinion that there is a substantial difference between watching something and doing something. Violent media can, at the very most, be a mere substitutional factor amongst many factors that could somewhat exacerbate the pace of an unhinged, unwell mind.www.hawkensian.com

vvvallaton Michael Haneke is dealing a important issue here as a teenager boy Benny watches violent films and murders a girl at the same age as a result. The rest of the film tries to show how Benny and his parents are dealing with this situation but it fails to make an impact of any kind.The first part of the film works pretty OK. Haneke's very realistic directing works well and the scene where Benny kills the girl is shown through a video screen is very effective. But after that the film does not really go anywhere. Haneke tries to show here how Benny's parents tries to handle the situation after Benny has shown them the video where the killing happens. I can see what Haneke tries to say here but he gives a pretty black and white point of view about the issue. Characters don't show any motions here (except in one scene on the end where Benny's mother breaks) and while it is parentally meant to be that way it's also a problem of the film. Benny's cold and insensible presence is getting more and more irritating as he stays the same through the whole film and you don't really care what's happening to him. You don't really get into his parents either as their are not allowed to show their feelings either.While Benny's parents are clearly one of the main reasons for his behavior, the message is here a little too underlining. And the long period of Benny's and his mothers vacation in Egypt does not really do anything for the movie. It feels like Haneke tries to get something out from the characters and their relationships but he ends up nothing. Many scenes are shot through Benny's video camera and i think Haneke is trying to take the viewer into Benny's mind but he does not succeed there either. Benny's actions are quite mild and non-interesting.There is no reason either why Benny shows the video for police and gives his parents in. He says to police that "no reason". The same problem is in "Funny Games" also as Haneke does not really seem to know what he wants to say after all.I give a credit to Haneke for making a movie like this and i really like his realistic style and slow pace. But it's a shame that his skills for character study and storytelling lacks too much. It's all very shocking and everything but that's not enough to make a good movie.