Plot summary of Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winning, The White Ribbon:In a village in Protestant northern Germany, on the eve of World War I, the children of a church and school run by the village schoolteacher and their families experience a series of bizarre incidents that inexplicably assume the characteristics of a punishment ritual. Who could be responsible for such bizarre transgressions? Leonie Benesch, Josef Bierbichler, and Rainer Bock star in director Michael Haneke's Palm d'Or-winning period drama.
There are some movies that are a fun time and easy to digest and then there are movies that force you to analyze the product. If you're up for the latter, I'd suggest checking out the filmography of Michael Haneke. Both of his films that I've seen, Cache and now The White Ribbon, definitely leave the viewer with questions to ponder.
The film is told in flashback from the memory of the village's schoolteacher, as he tries to come to grips with the violent occurrences that took place, especially in light of his existence in post-WWII Germany. Memory is important as it informs not only the surreal quality of the black and white visuals, but also the partial omniscience of the camera as it seems to probe every character (through the teacher's perspective and knowledge of them, of course) yet never witnesses the violent acts and, at times, dawdles at the edge of a scene, not seeing what is happening just out of view.
This is really a film about violence: it's causes, it's repercussions, and what it leads to. It's not giving anything away to say that suspicion is cast on the children of the village as the possible perpetrators of these violent acts. But why? Why would children in such an idyllic village commit such acts? One only has to look at Haneke's portrayal of their parents for explanation. There's the cruel doctor who molests his daughter, the steward who savagely beats his son, the baron who treats his wife coldly and sarcastically, and the preacher who not only beats his children but also publicly shames and ridicules them. Do the actions of the parents beget the violence of the children? Are the children passing revenge through these violent acts? Haneke never directly answers these questions, except once, when after being berated by her father, the preacher's daughter ferociously impales his pet bird.
After contemplating the film, what Haneke is driving at starts to become clear . Just look at the time period. It's 1914. These children, supposedly committing these violent acts, are teens and pre-teens. In 20 years, the roots of Nazi Germany will begin to take hold and these children will be adults. The connections are for the viewer to decide.
On a final note, the visuals in this film are amazing. The black and white is striking and Haneke exquisitely composes every scene. Really, its almost worth seeing the film just for the visual pleasure.
Reason my rating is so different from Wade's: blah! I need more than just two and a half hours of seemingly setting and set-up, with only a hint of the climax, and then its over. Although the movie did keep me intriqued, and Wade's right, the art direction is beautiful. Still I felt frustrated when the movie was over, all that effort and concentration and it ended with no answers...
Wade: 4.5/5 stars
Kinsey: 3/5 stars
This is really a film about violence: it's causes, it's repercussions, and what it leads to. It's not giving anything away to say that suspicion is cast on the children of the village as the possible perpetrators of these violent acts. But why? Why would children in such an idyllic village commit such acts? One only has to look at Haneke's portrayal of their parents for explanation. There's the cruel doctor who molests his daughter, the steward who savagely beats his son, the baron who treats his wife coldly and sarcastically, and the preacher who not only beats his children but also publicly shames and ridicules them. Do the actions of the parents beget the violence of the children? Are the children passing revenge through these violent acts? Haneke never directly answers these questions, except once, when after being berated by her father, the preacher's daughter ferociously impales his pet bird.
After contemplating the film, what Haneke is driving at starts to become clear . Just look at the time period. It's 1914. These children, supposedly committing these violent acts, are teens and pre-teens. In 20 years, the roots of Nazi Germany will begin to take hold and these children will be adults. The connections are for the viewer to decide.
On a final note, the visuals in this film are amazing. The black and white is striking and Haneke exquisitely composes every scene. Really, its almost worth seeing the film just for the visual pleasure.
Reason my rating is so different from Wade's: blah! I need more than just two and a half hours of seemingly setting and set-up, with only a hint of the climax, and then its over. Although the movie did keep me intriqued, and Wade's right, the art direction is beautiful. Still I felt frustrated when the movie was over, all that effort and concentration and it ended with no answers...
Wade: 4.5/5 stars
Kinsey: 3/5 stars
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