Happy End (2017)

A well-to-do French family deals with a series of setbacks and crises.

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Mathieu Kassovitz

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Anne Laurent
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Georges Laurent
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Thomas Laurent
Fantine Harduin	...	Eve Laurent
Franz Rogowski	...	Pierre Laurent
Laura Verlinden	...	Anaïs
Aurélia Petit	...	Nathalie
Toby Jones	...	Lawrence Bradshaw
Hille Perl	...	La gambiste
Hassam Ghancy	...	Rachid
Nabiha Akkari	...	Jamila
Joud Geistlich	...	Selin
Philippe du Janerand	...	Maître Barin
Dominique Besnehard	...	Marcel, le coiffeur
Bruno Tuchszer	...	Inspecteur chantier 1

Storyline

Gradually succumbing to dementia, George Laurent, the octogenarian patriarch of the Laurents, an affluent upper-bourgeois family, is uncomfortably sharing his palatial manor in Calais, the heart of the infamous migrant jungle, with his twice-married son, Thomas, and Anne, his workaholic daughter who has taken over the family construction business. Divorced and frigid, Anne has to handle the impact of a disastrous workplace accident caused by her disappointing son Pierre's negligence, while at the same time, the urgent hospitalisation of Thomas' ex-wife from a mysterious poisoning, leads his sulky 13-year-old daughter, Ève, to live with her father and his new wife, Anais. Undoubtedly, in this family, everyone has a skeleton in the closet, and as the fates of the Laurents enmesh with insistent and ignoble desires, a peculiar and disturbing alliance will form. But in the end, some secrets are bigger than others.

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Plot Keywords:

self hatred | hamster | construction site | telephone conversation | 12 year old | 

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Taglines:

Don't believe the title of this Michael Haneke film.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual material and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [UK] Official site [Austria]

Country:

France Austria Germany

Language:

French English

Release Date:

22 December 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Happy End

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Budget:

$13,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,091, 24 December 2017

Gross USA:

$301,718

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,610,794

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Losange, X-Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fourth collaboration between Michael Haneke and Isabelle Huppert.

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Goofs

During the beach scene with Thomas and Eve, several passersby in the background are looking at the camera.

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Connections

Referenced in The Piano Teacher (2001)

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Soundtracks

Toi et moi
Performed by Guillaume Grand

User Reviews

Cross-generational self-destruction

This is a stark, unforgiving, and intermittently absorbing satire about an upper middle-class family. Filmed like a puzzle, it is often maddening for its slow pace, and then sharp in its meaning. Set in coastal Northern France it deals with themes such as family despair and dysfunction, self-destruction, inter-generational revenge and suppression of guilt. Michael Haneke has built a reputation for making films which confront his audience to make them feel uncomfortable and there is little let-up in this offering. The interesting technological aspect to the story is that surveillance and video recording are devices for illustrating sordid desire and longing.