Demanding

In the interviews that Haneke gives in the extras provided with the DVD, he states that film (even documentary) will never show reality. It can only offer fragments, since the real world is far too complex to be encapsulated in a film. This helps explain this exasperating yet fascinating example from him. It?s a series of unrelated scenes, which he has filmed in single one-shot takes, with the only linking theme being the difficulties and contradictions of living in a multi-cultural city. Filmed on location, some of the sequences have an honesty that makes them incredibly uncomfortable to watch: the sequence where Juliette Binoche is bullied and insulted by a couple of Arab youths being a particular stand-out.

This is a demanding film, in some of the scenes nothing happens at all, and don?t expect any resolutions, but I would definitely watch it again.