A well-to-do French family deals with a series of setbacks and crises.A well-to-do French family deals with a series of setbacks and crises.A well-to-do French family deals with a series of setbacks and crises.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 8 nominations
Daniel Auteuil
- Thomas Lauret
- (credit only)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough Jean-Louis Trintignant has been retired since 2003, he only comes back to working on films if Michael Haneke is directing. He considers Haneke the greatest director alive and would act for him in any film (in both big and smalls roles). Michael Haneke also considers Trintignant one of his all time favorite actors (along with Marlon Brando).
- GoofsDuring the beach scene with Thomas and Eve, several passersby in the background are looking at the camera.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021)
- SoundtracksLes Folies d'Espagne
Performed by Hille Perl
Featured review
another perspective of the end
If anybody thought after seeing 'Amour' and especially its ending that Michael Haneke turned to be a little bit softer towards its characters and show them some mercy, than his or her expectations will be definitely be contradicted by his most recent film 'Happy End', which to many extends deals with the same theme - the end of the road that expects us all, death and how to cope with it.
The high bourgeoisie class had already had its prime time in cinema. Luis Buñuel is the first great director who comes to my mind, with his sharp and cynical visions in movies like 'The Exterminating Angel' and 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' . Their universe receives a deep and detailed description in this film, we are in the 21st century but the change seems to be more in technology rather than in morals, inner relations, or the way the upper classes relate to the world around - servants in the house, partners and employees in business, or the immigrants of different colors of skin who also populate the Europe of our times. The name of the film, 'Happy End' may as well refer to the sunset of this social class or to the mercy killings of the old and suffering.
We know from his previous films that Michael Haneke is not concerned about breaking taboos. This film attacks several as well. Innocence of child is one of them, the young age being seen not that much as an ideal age, but rather as the period when seeds of evil are being sown. We have seen something similar in 'The White Ribbon'. Respectability of the old age is another, and the character and interpretation of Jean-Louis Trintignant is the proof. There is decency in his attitude, but it derives from a very different place than the usual convention. At some point it seems that the old Monsieur Laurent tells a story that happened to the character also played by Trintignant in 'Amour'. Themes are recurring, but what the attitude of the script writer and director is as non-conventional as ever. One new perspective in this film is the exposure to the Internet and to social networking. These play an important role in the story, part of the characters share their feelings and send their hidden messages in the apparent darkness of the digital networking. The sharp critic of the director towards the surrogates of human communication is evident, but he also borrows brilliantly the format of the smartphones screens and uses them to open and close his film. 'Happy End' is (almost) another masterpiece by Michael Haneke.
The high bourgeoisie class had already had its prime time in cinema. Luis Buñuel is the first great director who comes to my mind, with his sharp and cynical visions in movies like 'The Exterminating Angel' and 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' . Their universe receives a deep and detailed description in this film, we are in the 21st century but the change seems to be more in technology rather than in morals, inner relations, or the way the upper classes relate to the world around - servants in the house, partners and employees in business, or the immigrants of different colors of skin who also populate the Europe of our times. The name of the film, 'Happy End' may as well refer to the sunset of this social class or to the mercy killings of the old and suffering.
We know from his previous films that Michael Haneke is not concerned about breaking taboos. This film attacks several as well. Innocence of child is one of them, the young age being seen not that much as an ideal age, but rather as the period when seeds of evil are being sown. We have seen something similar in 'The White Ribbon'. Respectability of the old age is another, and the character and interpretation of Jean-Louis Trintignant is the proof. There is decency in his attitude, but it derives from a very different place than the usual convention. At some point it seems that the old Monsieur Laurent tells a story that happened to the character also played by Trintignant in 'Amour'. Themes are recurring, but what the attitude of the script writer and director is as non-conventional as ever. One new perspective in this film is the exposure to the Internet and to social networking. These play an important role in the story, part of the characters share their feelings and send their hidden messages in the apparent darkness of the digital networking. The sharp critic of the director towards the surrogates of human communication is evident, but he also borrows brilliantly the format of the smartphones screens and uses them to open and close his film. 'Happy End' is (almost) another masterpiece by Michael Haneke.
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Final felíz
- Filming locations
- Blériot-Plage, Sangatte, Pas-de-Calais, France(beach scene)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €12,034,009 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $301,718
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $23,091
- Dec 24, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $2,610,794
- Runtime1 hour 47 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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