Golden Palms, an Oscar, Golden Globes, European and German film awards: Few directors have been honored for their work as widely as Michael Haneke.
Michael Haneke has won Cannes' Palme d'Or twiceImage: Reuters
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Austrian director Michael Haneke's films
Austrian Michael Haneke, who was born in Munich, is one of the world's top award-winning directors. Films such as "Amour" and "The White Ribbon," catapulted him to global film director stardom.
Image: Reuters
A well-filled prize cabinet
Director Michael Haneke, shown here holding Cannes' Palme d'Or in 2012 for "Amour," has received too many awards to actually count them. But the Austrian filmmaker isn't driven to cinema for the prizes. Far more important for him are his films themselves — and their impact on film history.
Image: Reuters
Film debut in 1989
After working for television and theater, Haneke made his cinematic debut with "The Seventh Continent" — a film that takes viewers' breath away. One can hardly bare the piercing coldness and pessimism of this story of a family that deliberately commits suicide.
Despite recognition for his masterful dramatic art, Haneke's films have often provoked controversy. The director's fifth cinema film, "Funny Games," which depicts two young men who terrorize a married couple, was called "cold" and "cynical" by some.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Film Concorde
Jelinek's mother-daughter tale
Haneke shocked viewers with his 2001 film based on Elfriede Jelinek's novel "Die Klavierspielerin" ("The Piano Teacher"). The award-winning film depicts the strained relationship between a mother and daughter and stars the wonderful Isabelle Huppert.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Apocalyptic view of the future
Isabelle Huppert also starred in Haneke's next film, "The Time of the Wolf," along with Beatrice Dalle (shown here). The dystopian post-apocalyptic drama film depicts the struggles of a family in an unspecified time in which civilization has collapsed.
Image: picture alliance/United Archives/Impress
'Caché' is a triumph
His next film also became an artistic triumph for Haneke. "Caché," also known as "Hidden" in the UK, depicts the everyday life of a married couple, played by Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil, that turns to chaos when they begin receiving videos anonymously. The film, which garnered numerous prizes, addresses various subjects, but leaves much space for interpretation by the viewer.
Image: picture-alliance/KPA
International acclaim with 'The White Ribbon'
Haneke won his second Palme d'Or, as well as the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film with this dark tale of life in a northern German village just before World War I. "The White Ribbon" explores a prevalent culture of authority, hierarchy and violence that Haneke sees as "the roots of evil" that led to Nazi horrors.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Les Film du Losange
An Oscar for 'Amour'
The Academy Award for best foreign-language film went to Haneke's 2012 film "Amour," which poignantly tells the story of an ageing couple. The intense interaction between actors Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant enthused critics, with the Guardian film critic describing the work as "film-making at the highest pitch of intelligence and insight."
Image: Festival de Cannes 2012
A satire-tragedy on European wealth: 'Happy End'
"Happy End" stars Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, who once again portray a daughter-father relationship, as in Haneke's 2012 film "Amour." The film deals with moral degradation, and centers on a wealthy French family whose mansion is in Calais, a city that grabbed media attention for the poor conditions of the migrant encampment known as the "Calais Jungle."
Image: Happy End/M. Haneke
Master film director: Michael Haneke
Haneke, who turns 80 on March 23, is one of Europe's most outstanding filmmakers. In between movie projects, he has also staged operas. In 2019, he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the country's highest award for special achievements.
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At the start, nothing pointed to an exceptional career. No one could have predicted that the man who once directed a few TV films for a German broadcaster would be among the very few film directors to win two Palme d'Or awards in Cannes. Followed by an Oscar. And Golden Globes. And almost a dozen European film prizes.
Over the past years, Michael Haneke has been overwhelmed by awards. It wasn't until he began to work as a director for the big screen in 1989 that he really found his own style.
He has directed 11 movies since then.
His debut, "The Seventh Continent," was a movie packed with relentless intensity that borders on the unendurable about a family that deliberately commits suicide. It is utterly disturbing.
His next films are also characterized by glacial intensity and razor-sharp analysis.
Michael Haneke appears to have little pity for his protagonists. He tells stories on the screen like a pathologist dissects bodies. "This is what it's like, take a look," he seems to be telling the viewer. "Life happens to be just the way I'm showing it to you."
Distraction and escapism are not his thing, nor is glossy superficiality.
Haneke and Isabelle Huppert have collaborated on several films, including 'The Piano Teacher'Image: Getty Images
Perception of reality
In 2007, Haneke went to Hollywood to film the remake of his 1997 film "Funny Games" — but not before he had made sure he would also be granted the final cut. No one meddles with the likes of Haneke — that was a precondition for the Austrian director for his US stint.
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In 2013 the German-born Austrian director won an Oscar for "Amour," the captivating romantic drama revolving around an elderly couple.
A few years before winning an Oscar, he had already made waves at festivals, award ceremonies and at the box offices with "The White Ribbon," a film about a family in northern Germany before World War I.
Haneke is one of the very few directors to have one the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival twice.
Though he is bound to be proud of the many honors, it's unlikely the director has an eye out for sparkling awards. The intellectual with the keen analytical mind is likely to find more gratification in the enthusiasm of a sophisticated movie audience than in a stroll over the red carpet.
Haneke won the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2013Image: Reuters
Haneke addresses the refugee tragedy
His latest film, "Happy End," came to the cinemas in 2017. Starring longtime Haneke collaborators Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant, the film tells the story of a family who live in Calais in northern France, whose wealth contrasts with the refugee tragedy there.
Since then, the director has earned even more accolades.
In 2018 he received the French order Pour le Mérite, as well as the Bavarian Maximilian order for science and art. The Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany followed in 2019.
This article was originally written in German and is an updated version of a profile of the filmmaker.
