If you’re in the mood for a two and half our film that mixes the creepiness of a Nick Cave song with the beautiful cinematography of an Ingmar Bergman film and the “story about nothing” drive of Seinfeld, then this is the film for you.
Maybe Michael Haneke is one of the filmmakers I just don’t get, like Lars von Trier. Ribbon won the Palm D’or at Cannes, Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography at the Oscars. It’s a highly acclaimed film that lots of people seem to love and I really have to ask, why?
The film takes place in a small German town on the eve of WWI. A series of seemingly unrelated unfortunate events occur mixed in with a bunch of more seeming related scenes that are just boring. The main character of the film, credited only as “School Teacher” (Christian Friedel) starts to get develop an interesting theory about all the bad things that are happening when… well I don’t want to spoil the “ending” for you.
The back of the DVD describes the film as having “a punishment ritual,” which makes no sense at all. Two kids get horribly beaten and it’s hinted at that the doctor sexually abuses his daughter, and while all these things are indeed horrible, I see nothing ritualistic about it.
Perhaps this utter lack of coherent story might be acceptable if the film had interesting character, but it doesn’t even really offer that. The townsfolk are either completely horrible or forgettable. The School Teacher has a few moments towards the end of the film, but he’s not an interesting enough character to carry a film this long.
The acting across the board is good and the cinematography certainly is some of the best of the year, but outside that I really don’t have any compliments for this film. This happened to me with Haneke’s early film Cache. A lot of people loved it. I just didn’t get it. I can’t help but wonder if people say they like it cause they worried what people will think if they say the don’t.
Either way, this is two and half hours I’ll never get back. I can’t think of anyone I can honestly recommend this film to.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Sound is in German 5.1 Dolby Digital Stereo sound with English subtitles. As stated above, the cinematography is absolutely stunning. I guess if you’re studying to be a cinematographer this would be a good film to watch. Or you could just check out some Bergman films, which inspired the look of this film.
Theatrical Trailer
While I’m glad I didn’t have to sit through a two and a half hour commentary, I wish there had at least been an interview with Haneke on here to explain why he made this film. Outside the cinematography there wasn’t anything about this film I enjoyed. I kept waiting for anything in the film to make sense and that just made me more and more frustrated.
Sony Pictures Classics presents The White Ribbon. Written and Directed by Michael Haneke. Starring Christian Friedel. 144 minutes. Rated R for some disturbing content involving violence and sexuality. Released on DVD: June 29, 2010.
