Winning awards for director Michael Haneke and cinematographer Christian Berger (including the Golden Palm at Cannes) The White Ribbon has been one of the most internationally acclaimed films of the past year; and it is not hard to see why. This exquisitely shot exploration of ideology is unnerving and uncomfortable viewing, but it is also completely intriguing and utterly intelligent storytelling.
Set in a small northern German village in the years preceding the outbreak of WWI, the story of a series of strange incidences, escalating in violence and malice is narrated by the village’s schoolteacher (Christian Freidel, voiced in narration by Ernest Jacobi). Growing tension between the farmers and the village’s primary landowner- the Baron (Ulrich Tukur), and the oppressive authoritarian practices of the village’s parents, particularly the pastor’s (Burghart Klaussner) use of ritual to punish his own children- offer clues as the to the perpetrators of the crimes and their motivations. But The White Ribbon is not a film with resolutions, and Haneke’s story is filled with undercurrents of the horrors that are to follow in Germany, with WWI and WWII.
With an excellent cast of children, who range from the very sweet to down-right creepy, the film’s repressive atmosphere requires understated performances. Maria-Victoria Dragus and Leonard Proxauf are superb as the Pastor’s two eldest children bringing a powerful sense of intense stillness and internal rage. Along with the disturbing elements of the film, there is also a very gentle and lovely romance between the schoolteacher and the nanny at the Baron’s estate, Eva (Leonie Benesch), which makes a welcome contrast to the film’s sombre tones.
4/5
First published in The Brag 11/10/10
