The Seventh Continent (German: Der siebente Kontinent) is a 1989 Austrian drama film directed by Michael Haneke. It is Haneke's debut feature film, reportedly inspired by a true story of an Austrian middle-class family. The film chronicles the last years of the European family, which consists of Georg, an engineer; his wife Anna, an optician; and their young daughter, Eva. They lead routine urban middle-class lives, with hopes of escaping to Australia to start a new life, however suddenly decide to destroy themselves without any apparent reason. The film is divided into three parts. The first two, 1987 and 1988, each depict a day in the family's life, showing their daily activities in detail. It conveys their discomfort with the sterile routines of modern society. Toward the beginning of each part, there is a voice over of the wife reading a letter to the husband's parents informing them of his success at work. Many of the same activities are shown in both parts....