“The White Ribbon”: Michael Haneke’s world is very, very different than our own. The enigmatic writer-director of “Cache” is back with another draw-your-own-conclusion film that, well, should leave you talking long after leaving the movie theater. It’s part psychological horror film, part cautionary tale with underpinnings into national socialism and pre-Nazism, and at the heart of its complex story are several children who may – or may not -- be getting a little bit tired of following the traditional order. I leave that open as a tribute to Haneke, who doesn’t want to spoon-feed us anything, unlike 95% (if not greater) of his filmmaking peers. Haneke’s story takes place in a German farming village just before the breakout of World War I. The tight-knit community is essentially controlled economically by the Baron (Ulrich Tukur); guided spiritually by the Pastor (Burghart Klaussner); tended to health-wise by the Doctor (Rainer Bock), and taught by the Schoolteacher (Christian Friedel). It’s the latter who narrates the film (in an older voice provided by Ernst Jacobi). It’s a fairly functional town, except the morally holier-than-thou attitude and strictness displayed by the adults show chinks in their armor. There is adultery, unhappy relationships, and some unspeakable acts, compared to the minor transgressions committed by the children. Yet as an act of punishment for one of their little misdeeds, the Pastor demands that two of his older teenaged children wear white ribbons as a sign of purity, and that the boy’s hands are tied-down in his bed at night. The village’s children are generally accepting of these ‘unusual’ acts (they know no other way), but someone – maybe more than one person – is responsible for increasingly violent “accidents” that are occurring throughout the village; acts that directly affect those who are demanding the children do as they say, but not necessarily as they do. And just when you think you’ve figured out ‘whodunnit,’ it turns out you haven’t. Yet the film isn’t necessarily about the mysterious incidents; it’s actually about a lot of other things. And as with his sometimes frustrating, but ultimately fascinating film, “Cache,” Michael Haneke wants you to really, really read into the messages he’s trying to insert into his movie. The acting is very deliberate, with solid performances from its mostly-unknown cast, and, in a Haneke tradition, his film has no score. But where “The White Ribbon” really stands out (aside from its complex story and direction) is in its look. Filmed in color, then overdone in black-and-white, “The White Ribbon” is gorgeous. The from-another-era feel also enhances the mood of the film, which can be somber and slow, but, like the aforementioned “Cache,” is ultimately fascinating. *** ½ (out of) **** (In German with English subtitles) (2/27/10) | |
