Funny Games — Films That Suggest There is No God

Gist: A young family on vacation fall pray to a home invasion by a couple of young, merciless thugs.

Supposed Godlessness: Michael Haneke’s film was actually meant as an indictment of Americans’ thirst for blood and violence on the screen, but, with its utterly callous young antagonists and thorough disregard for justice or redemption, it can also be interpreted as an indictment of a thoroughly godless world (which is another of Haneke’s frequent themes).

Counter Argument: Because Haneke chooses to break the 4th wall on occasion, and the film is far more clinical than debilitating, it comes across as an angry essay against violence porn, not so much a gripping, realistic drama. God might not factor in the film simply because Haneke wanted everything focused on his main premise.

Conclusion: Too polemic to be read with multiple layers, the film achieves its main goal, but leaves little room for other thematic possibilities.