Discussion on THE SEVENTH CONTINENT (The Criterion Collection 2022 Releases)

*NOTE* This is part of a multi-part discussion on the Criterion Collection release of MICHAEL HANEKE: TRILOGY. For more videos in this multi-part discussion, please see this playlist:
• Discussions on MICHAEL...
A film included in the set which is at Spine No. 1163
1989, directed by Michael Haneke
THE SEVENTH CONTINENT
For more information about the Criterion release, please see:
www.criterion.com/boxsets/632...
0:00 Introduction
1:31 Discussion on the film
18:20 Comments on the presentation and supplements
37:05 Concluding remarks
Other discussions on the Criterion Collection 2022 Releases can be found in this playlist here:
• CRITERION COLLECTION 2...
Opening credits music:
Mario Bava Sleeps In a Little Later Than He Expected To by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: chriszabriskie.com/vendaface/
Artist: chriszabriskie.com/
Closing credits music:
Divider by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/...)
Source: chriszabriskie.com/divider/
Artist: chriszabriskie.com/
*****
You can reach me at: [e-mail]
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[@Jared_Wignall]

Sounds like an interesting film Daisuke, thank you for talking about this. I hope you’re doing well and have a great rest of the year. Take care!

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you here as well!!

[@Stealthborn]

What happens when a family lives a normal life but decides to go in an entirely different direction? How can only possibly explain the events that lead up to the bitter end with the family? Can one discern any possible reasons as to why this happens? And what to make of real events that inspired this work and what it mean in the big picture? These are some questions that one can theorize about as one views Michael Haneke's debut feature film The Seventh Continent. It is a movie that breaks down the lives of a family that starts off normally and then takes a hard right as we see how things change for them in a spontaneous way that sticks with us long after and pervades our thoughts.
The movie starts off with a normal middle-class family living in Austria during the period of 1987-1989. We have Georg who is an engineer who moves up the work ladder over this period of time. There is also his wife Anna who is an optician who has steady work. And then we have their young daughter Eva who goes to school like any normal child. Over this time frame we get to witness the three as they go through their daily lives which seems ordinary and pretty bland at first. But when 1989 rolls around, a change occurs that sets these three on a different path without any proper explanation and leads to self destruction in more ways than one which has no warning after a dark existential epiphany.
To go over their daily lives as a whole, I can see that there is a certain pattern that is followed that they each go through. This
leads to a certain theme in the movie when it comes to repetitiveness. This family goes through the motions time in and time out with the work that they do, the meals that they cook and going to school to learn. It is the same cycle over and over again which doesn't seem to stop. That kind of pattern can become tiresome and make one feel that they are trapped and can lead to a certain sense of dread, even if one doesn't seem to notice anything like that at first. We all at one time or another get stuck in a typical banal routine. One can have a feeling of being trapped or as if they are a machine enacting the same movements over and over again.
Another thing to observe is the fact that this family seems practically cut off from the world despite existing and even interacting with it in various aspects. This has to do with a form of isolationism that the family goes on whether they are talking to others or not. The interactions they have with the world are basic and not on a deep level. The letters that Anna writes out to her family and the interactions with Georg's parents are pretty limited. They are establishing contact, but only on the smallest level and just going over their lives in the basic terms. This family keeps to themselves for the most part and could arguably be suffering in silence. They're in a bubble of their own making and choosing which involves limited contact with the outside world.
But this takes a turn when the family decides to come up with a plan to "leave". They make preparations that are out of the norm when anyone gets a particular idea in their head. They start spending a little more lavishly when it comes to particular food and drink. They do certain actions that could be seen as alarming like closing their bank accounts and saying they are going to do something in particular (in this case go to the Seventh Continent, i.e. Australia) when it couldn't be further from the truth. This type of behavior is in reality a secret cry for help that is all about suffering in silence, but having the idea of making all of the discomfort go away, but not in the right way.
When the family is going through the "destructive phase", it could be seen as a way of taking out their innermost repressed feelings and enacting their thoughts into reality. This could be a way of destroying effigies that represent their old life and basically destroying it into pieces. This is symbolic of their lives by letting go and where they are ending up before the conclusion comes along which is slow but agonizing and excruciating. Haneke got inspiration from this after reading about it in a story. This leads to a theme that Haneke has explored in various films he's done which involve how the mass media gets involved in tragic stories like this and how it may be a bad thing when it comes to how the event is portrayed.
This leads to one big question at the end: why did they follow through with this plan in the first place? There are a number of
interpretations since this is a complex issue when one considers the people and circumstances. I would presume that they were tired of the same pattern and were looking for a means of escape, though in a much darker way. The Seventh Continent itself is featured a few times within the film as a place to escape which is serene and peaceful. But it also represents how impossible it would be considering it is far away and with how it looks (the waves would never move that way considering the geography). So it could be viewed as a fantasy world in a sense. A slice of heaven to them (Gyorg especially)if you will.
The Seventh Continent is the deconstruction of an Austrian family going down a spiral of self destruction. But it is just a
representation of many different stories that may have followed this trajectory. It explores the idea of being stuck in the same
loop over and over again when it comes to life's affairs and then looking for a way out. The spontaneousness of the family and
their decision to go down a dark path is what makes the film stand out and become something of a warning when it comes to the idea of isolating oneself from the world as well. And these events that unfold are jarring enough to make it a terrifying lesson in how one could perceive someone else and not know what is really going on inside with no discernible explanation outright.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

And truly, thank you so much for this as well.
Another fantastic write up my dear friend!!!

[@joaofreire2348]

Just finished watching this one for the first time and Im sure it will take a while for me to fully process it. What an incredible cinematic experience. I feel like jumping back in immediately but then again maybe that’s not such a good idea… this a rough one. Extremely curious with the next two films as they are also first time views! Best regards Daisuke.

[@Sude1089]

**Spoilery**
Daisuke, my friend! Hello and I hope you are doing well at the time of this comment! This morning, I watched this film The Seventh Continent for the first time in my new copy of the Michael Haneke Trilogy set I recently acquired. Whoa... This film was excruciating to watch. It reminded me quite a bit of Benny's Video in a lot of ways. Michael Haneke's style seems readily apparent to me now having seen this, Benny's Video and Funny Games. I am anxious for what the third film included in this set will be about because I can arguably say so far that all of these films I've seen so far have serviced to upset me greatly. Each of these films that I have watched, including this one, have a level of intense tension building and then a forced reckoning with graphic details/scenes. It is as you say, a very difficult viewing experience. I curse myself in ways for choosing to want to watch films of this nature because I am forever scarred by these kinds of experiences I have watching them. At the same time that I say that, I can also see where the conversations can lead after watching these films and consider them in that regard to be essential viewings for the cinema fan. So in that regard, I am a proud owner of this box, Michael Haneke Trilogy. In regards to this film The Seventh Continent specifically, I had quite the ride watching this film. The whole time, I was bathed in fear at the thought of something graphic happening to that adorable little girl. My biggest phobia is also damage or interference of any kind with the human eyeball and there is a scene in this film where the tension was so great that I almost had to look away if it wasn't for needing to read the subtitles! My hands are sweating just thinking of that scene and thinking with that grinding sound in the background that something awful could happen... Something awful did indeed happen, but thank goodness it wasn't as intense as some of the foreshadowing(?) would have you believe such as when we see purchasing of a hammer or saw. I would also watch the special features included on this disc and found both discussions very helpful in deciphering this film and finding a healthy place for it in the pantheon of (horror?) film. I think the scene of the money being flushed down the toilet kinda automatically makes this a horror film because that scene made me cringe!! I feel like there truly is so much to say about this film and I'm only honored as always to know that someone like you exists out there so that I might speak about it without sounding crazy for even watching it in the first place. This is a film that isn't for everyone, but I would be so interested and excited to hear someone's opinion of this film if they ever had the chance to make it through the whole thing! I can surmise what most people would say and I honestly wouldn't blame them! This is just as provocative of a film as you describe in this great video discussion, my friend! Thank you as always for leading me to and through such all-time memorable cinema experiences, Daisuke. I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the next film in this set! Cheers!