It is only in a momentary depiction of three generations of bourgeois existence that Michael Haneke allows us to become aware, in his new film HAPPY END, which certainties are likely to slip away, which values to sink beneath the surface. Even when employing the transience of youthful chat media, the filmmaker succeeds in generating lasting unease about ourselves – and within ourselves.

«AMOUR involves a thousand different things, and when I emphasize one of them, I reduce all the others. I've never set out to make a film about a certain theme. What led to me making this one was the question of how you deal with the death of someone you love?»

«The film examines the issue of the conditions that lead to terrorism. To do this it employs Germany's past, which, I would like to emphasize, is only an example.»

'Of course the point isn't whether the boy's guilty of something or not, but how I deal with the fact that someone has suffered as a result of my actions.  Haneke's eighth feature film starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche premiered in Cannes' competition on May 14.

Michael Haneke's THE PIANO TEACHER (La Pianiste/ Die Klavierspielerin) was one of the most discussed films at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It also received three of the Festivals's top awards – the Grand Prix du Jury and Best Actor Awards for Isabelle Huppert and Benoit Magimel. A conversation with Michael Haneke.

Michael Haneke on his Cannes 2000 contribution Code Inconnu and his next film Die Klavierspielerin with Isabelle Huppert that started shooting in August.

«Den Status quo in Frage stellen" Michael Haneke über seinen im Wettbewerb von Cannes uraufgeführten Film CODE INCONNU und seine geplante Verfilmung von Elfriede Jelineks Die Klavierspielerin.