The Film: Haneke's exploration of death and troubled characters bubbles to the surface once more - as does his use of character names Anna, Georg and Eva.

This time, however the focus is (literally, since so much of the movie is viewed through lenses and video monitors) on the emotionally stunted Benny, whose terrible act of murder is covered up by his parents, with eventual (but off-screen) devastating consequences.

Haneke's View: "I'm trying as best I can to describe a situation as I see it without bullshitting or disingenuousness, but by so doing I subscribe to the notion that communication is still possible, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this.

"The new technologies, of both media representation and the political world, allow greater damage with ever-increasing speed. The media contribute to a confused consciousness through this illusion that we know all things at all times, and always with this great sense of immediacy.

"We live in this environment where we think we know more things faster, when in fact we know nothing at all. This propels us into terrible internal conflicts, which then creates angst, which in turn causes aggression, and this creates violence. This is a vicious cycle."