White Ribbon (B+ or 3/4 stars)
Odd, ritualistic events occur in a Protestant village in northern Germany during the years before WWI in 'The White Ribbon', written & directed by Michael Haneke. The film begins in 1912, & tells the story of a town schoolteacher (Christian Friedel), the pastor's children whom he teaches, & their family life at home. These pivotal characters include the town baron (landowner & local moral authority), his estate manager, the pastor, his aforementioned children, a widowed, incestuous doctor, his kids, a midwife, & said schoolteacher; who wants to get married. Speaking to us years afterwards, the schoolteacher is our narrator, & tells us the story as he saw it. By all accounts, the village 'appeared' to be your average, old-world, orderly place to live.
But I mentioned 'odd, ritualistic events' above. The 1st included an attempt to hurt or kill the town doctor by laying tripwire across a field that he rides his horse on. Who would set that up, & why? Shortly thereafter, and on the baron's property, a farmer's wife dies after falling through rotted floorboards. Is he negligible? Also, someone opens a window to expose a baby to the shocking cold of winter's night. The baron's cabbage patch (food is extremely important to the community) is destroyed. One of the baron's children is found beaten & bound by his hands & feet. A barn is burned (this visual is stunning). A farmer hangs himself. And the midwife's "retarded" son is found tied to a tree, beaten, & nearly blinded; with a message left on his chest speaking of Godly punishment.
The village is ill at ease. No one knows how to approach punishment when there is no person(s) to blame. The schoolteacher, who's considering marriage to a lovely girl named Eva (Leonie Benesch), slowly starts to unravel the mystery. By his deduction, it is the village children who caused all this grief in the town. Evil. If they are guilty, why would they do it? Ponder this: the injured doctor may be compassionate & gentile with his patients, but at home, he's abusive to his daughter & mistress; performing deplorable acts that would have him locked away forever by today's standards. And behind closed doors, the tyrannical pastor beats his children; tying white ribbons around the arms of his 2 eldest (Martin & Klara) - to permanently remind them of their duties of purity & righteousness. However, the ribbons don't work. In time, Martin admits to masturbation, & is tied down to his bed. And the sociopathic Klara took scissors to his pet parrot. How a pastor could be so admired by the town, & concerned with the spiritual health of his children, yet neglect them in every other way ... is beyond comprehension.
Haunted by dark feelings (violence behind closed doors), fears, suppression, religion, & a desire to lash out at authority figures ... one of the philosophies of the film is that these innocent groups of children who grew up in Germany's small, strict villages were the ones who eventually grew up to become Nazis; that they are the root of National Socialism; the root of the terror that would grow over the next decades. The end of the film shows us that the Archduke of Austria has been murdered ... kick-starting an international crisis that would eventually lead to the outbreak of WWI. The village woes would go away while the war brews. Those children would continue to grow up. And while no one paid attention, the seedlings of Nazi evil came to full bloom. Though the "human nature can be dark" theme is strong enough to inhabit one movie, I also loved how this film shows that less than 100 yrs. ago ... it was incredibly difficult to live; particularly in the countryside. Rural life was anything but idyllic. Without that community unity, with any chinks in the armor (due to weather, lack of electricity, lack of automobiles, etc.) ... you were basically screwed. Disease and/or death would follow. And I was fascinated to see those distinct possibilities occur throughout the film.
'The White Ribbon' is a great piece of cinematic work. Is it entertaining? Well, no. It is not. It's one of those meaningful art films. Now, I normally can't stand movies such as this. I find them pretentious, & uber-serious about their intentions. But the direction of this film, it's beautiful black-&-white imagery, & it's stunningly naturalistic performances override a lot of the ponderous pretention of most art films. The film, at 140 min., has lots of breathing room; reminding me of the long, languorous shots of 2005's The New World. I don't expect a lot of people to consider watching this movie; it doesn't have the narrative momentum that most mainstream viewers want; & no one will have a fun time watchin' it. But the long, quiet shots DO ratchet up the tension for some of the ensuing events that occur. And I have to admit ... though the movie requires patience, & is very draining ... it's also very stirring, & quite fascinating to watch play out.
I liked the narration of the story. I loved how the film captures a disquieting mood & doesn't let go. And it's one of those films where you feel like you're a fly on the wall while something powerful is occurring. I wasn't wild about the abrupt ending. And the answer to the town atrocities is not clean-cut. But I suppose it adds a bit to the mystery of it all. You know, I really disliked Haneke's previous films (Cache, Funny Games). Both were about the societal & spiritual despair of the human condition (middle class repression, emotional abuse, cathartic violence); one bored me to tears, the other was too steeped in gross horror. But in this film, the slowness didn't translate to boredom, & the horror was just a part of the elaborate mystery. Furthermore, at the heart of the story is the narrator. And his subplot involves the sweet courtship with Eva. The much-needed innocence of that storyline cuts through the horror at all the right points. I also liked that while the pastor's overseeing of his troubled children is hopeless, he does share a wonderful, tender relationship with his youngest son.
'The White Ribbon', impeccably made & allegorically challenging ... is a profound, disturbing, & unsettling film ... but it's story is told in a deliberate, cold, numbing manner that may alienate some viewers.
But I mentioned 'odd, ritualistic events' above. The 1st included an attempt to hurt or kill the town doctor by laying tripwire across a field that he rides his horse on. Who would set that up, & why? Shortly thereafter, and on the baron's property, a farmer's wife dies after falling through rotted floorboards. Is he negligible? Also, someone opens a window to expose a baby to the shocking cold of winter's night. The baron's cabbage patch (food is extremely important to the community) is destroyed. One of the baron's children is found beaten & bound by his hands & feet. A barn is burned (this visual is stunning). A farmer hangs himself. And the midwife's "retarded" son is found tied to a tree, beaten, & nearly blinded; with a message left on his chest speaking of Godly punishment.
The village is ill at ease. No one knows how to approach punishment when there is no person(s) to blame. The schoolteacher, who's considering marriage to a lovely girl named Eva (Leonie Benesch), slowly starts to unravel the mystery. By his deduction, it is the village children who caused all this grief in the town. Evil. If they are guilty, why would they do it? Ponder this: the injured doctor may be compassionate & gentile with his patients, but at home, he's abusive to his daughter & mistress; performing deplorable acts that would have him locked away forever by today's standards. And behind closed doors, the tyrannical pastor beats his children; tying white ribbons around the arms of his 2 eldest (Martin & Klara) - to permanently remind them of their duties of purity & righteousness. However, the ribbons don't work. In time, Martin admits to masturbation, & is tied down to his bed. And the sociopathic Klara took scissors to his pet parrot. How a pastor could be so admired by the town, & concerned with the spiritual health of his children, yet neglect them in every other way ... is beyond comprehension.
Haunted by dark feelings (violence behind closed doors), fears, suppression, religion, & a desire to lash out at authority figures ... one of the philosophies of the film is that these innocent groups of children who grew up in Germany's small, strict villages were the ones who eventually grew up to become Nazis; that they are the root of National Socialism; the root of the terror that would grow over the next decades. The end of the film shows us that the Archduke of Austria has been murdered ... kick-starting an international crisis that would eventually lead to the outbreak of WWI. The village woes would go away while the war brews. Those children would continue to grow up. And while no one paid attention, the seedlings of Nazi evil came to full bloom. Though the "human nature can be dark" theme is strong enough to inhabit one movie, I also loved how this film shows that less than 100 yrs. ago ... it was incredibly difficult to live; particularly in the countryside. Rural life was anything but idyllic. Without that community unity, with any chinks in the armor (due to weather, lack of electricity, lack of automobiles, etc.) ... you were basically screwed. Disease and/or death would follow. And I was fascinated to see those distinct possibilities occur throughout the film.
'The White Ribbon' is a great piece of cinematic work. Is it entertaining? Well, no. It is not. It's one of those meaningful art films. Now, I normally can't stand movies such as this. I find them pretentious, & uber-serious about their intentions. But the direction of this film, it's beautiful black-&-white imagery, & it's stunningly naturalistic performances override a lot of the ponderous pretention of most art films. The film, at 140 min., has lots of breathing room; reminding me of the long, languorous shots of 2005's The New World. I don't expect a lot of people to consider watching this movie; it doesn't have the narrative momentum that most mainstream viewers want; & no one will have a fun time watchin' it. But the long, quiet shots DO ratchet up the tension for some of the ensuing events that occur. And I have to admit ... though the movie requires patience, & is very draining ... it's also very stirring, & quite fascinating to watch play out.
I liked the narration of the story. I loved how the film captures a disquieting mood & doesn't let go. And it's one of those films where you feel like you're a fly on the wall while something powerful is occurring. I wasn't wild about the abrupt ending. And the answer to the town atrocities is not clean-cut. But I suppose it adds a bit to the mystery of it all. You know, I really disliked Haneke's previous films (Cache, Funny Games). Both were about the societal & spiritual despair of the human condition (middle class repression, emotional abuse, cathartic violence); one bored me to tears, the other was too steeped in gross horror. But in this film, the slowness didn't translate to boredom, & the horror was just a part of the elaborate mystery. Furthermore, at the heart of the story is the narrator. And his subplot involves the sweet courtship with Eva. The much-needed innocence of that storyline cuts through the horror at all the right points. I also liked that while the pastor's overseeing of his troubled children is hopeless, he does share a wonderful, tender relationship with his youngest son.
'The White Ribbon', impeccably made & allegorically challenging ... is a profound, disturbing, & unsettling film ... but it's story is told in a deliberate, cold, numbing manner that may alienate some viewers.