1993 Christmas’ eve. A 19-year-old student kills several people—all of whom were complete strangers—for no apparent reason. What brought the victims and their killer together? Starting with the TV newscasts of the event, the lives of those randomly involved in this act of violence are followed.

Part of Michael Haneke’s series of iconic films about the alienating and corrosive effects of Western society, the unflinching auteur of modern-day malaise boldly fragments a portrait of quotidian mundanity, culminating in a shattering and seismic act of random violence.