In general, a stationary picture shows the result of an action, whereas a film shows the action itself. A stationary picture mostly appeals to an observer's empathy with the victim, whereas generally in film the viewer is placed in the role of the perpetrator. When looking at Picasso's Guernica, for instance, we see the victims' pain for the eternity of viewing: solidarity with the victims, without moral stumbling blocks. But in the massacre in Coppola's Apocalypse Now (with Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' playing in the background) we are in the helicopter, firing at the stampeding Vietnamese below us, and we do this all without a bad conscience, because - at least in the moment of action - we are not aware that we are adopting this role.

Michael Haneke
from 'Beleiving not Seeing'
a Sight & Sound London Film Festival Supplement