‘Happy End’ Movie Review: Michael Haneke’s Latest Tackles Social Media

Michael Haneke‘s “Happy End,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, lacks the historical heft of “The White Ribbon” or the emotional through-line of “Amour,” both winners of the festival’s Palme d’Or prize.

It’s a more austere and enigmatic work about — among many other things — existential malaise among France’s top 1 percent. The compelling film is like the Austrian director’s answer to the age-old question, “What do you get for the man who has everything?” And though his answer is simple, one must put in the work to get there.

The film follows the Laurents (as all of Haneke’s francophone films do), a wealthy industrialist family living in the north of France.