In true Michael Haneke fashion, his latest film pretty much caused the Cannes jury to have a meltdown when it was awarded the Palmes D’Or earlier this year. We didn’t particularly love the film, which we reviewed back in October, but on the plus side it is easily Haneke’s least audience-baiting film to date, and it’s also undeniably gorgeous, with some breathaking work by cinematographer Christian Berger. Oh yeah, the lead performance by first time film actor Christian Friedel is one of this year’s most remarkable turns as well. We’re a little surprised more people aren’t talking about it but that may change once this starts doing the critical rounds for Oscar season. It’s Germany’s official selection for Best Foreign Film and pretty much a shoo-in for one of the nods.
Here’s the official synopsis:
A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all?
That’s actually fairly accurate and by the end of the nearly two-and-half hour film you’re not going get much closer to an answer. The official North American trailer to the film is oddly very spoilerish, revealing a lot of the twists and surprises that are probably better experienced going into the film cold. That said, it does do a good job of capturing the eerie coldness and general creepy vibe that runs throughout the picture, so proceed with caution?
“The White Ribbon” opens in NY/LA on December 30th and will rollout from there.
