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Benny's Video (1992)

Director: Michael Haneke

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From Time Out Film Guide

An unsettling if not entirely successful social-cum-psychological drama. Benny - a well-off 14-year-old whose none too warmly affectionate parents have bought him an amazing array of video equipment - has become so desensitised to reality by watching endless violent images on the small screen that he ends up killing an almost total stranger. So far, so unremarkable; but his remorseless, Psycho-style reaction to the deed, his mute 'confession' to his parents via video, and their reaction in turn, are quietly chilling. As a study in the complex relationship between violence and cinema, it's an unsensational alternative to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Man Bites Dog.

Author: GA 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide


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