The White Ribbon

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After his French thriller Cache and his American outing Funny Games US, the Austrian director returns closer to home for The White Ribbon, a German drama that took home the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Although impressive in parts, the reason for the victory is lost on this reviewer. Set in a northern German village in 1913, The White Ribbon foreshadows the destruction of WWI and the rise of National Socialism; although that devastation is far from the minds of the villagers, the seeds are sown in their actions.

The schoolteacher narrates the story some years after the events - definitely post WWII - in a manner of one trying to get his head around the mysteries that took place. Riding home one day, the doctor is felled by a tripwire tied between two trees and is thrown from his horse - the doctor is rushed to hospital and the horse is destroyed, but before the police investigate, persons unknown remove the wire. Before that plot is delved into, Haneke then moves to the Baron's sawmill where a peasant woman falls through some rotting wood to her death. This sends shock waves through her family - the son, blaming the Baron for his mother's death, takes his scythe to the Baron's cabbages, while her husband hangs himself in the barn. Then the Baron's son goes missing but is found later that night, badly beaten. The midwife's son is also tortured. Who is doing this and why? Haneke gives a nod to the children of the pastor, who live in fear of their father's wrath. The pastor ties a white ribbon to his children to remind them of their innocence.

There's no doubt that The White Ribbon was made by a master filmmaker. It exudes confidence with Haneke in no rush to sort it all out. The film looks beautiful; the stark black and white images, especially during the winter sequences, are postcard perfect. The White Ribbon isn't any one person's story. It isn't the village's story, either - it's Germany's story. The "apathy, malice, envy, and revenge" that dominate life in the village is an allegory for the rise of fascism, a future that would only be fifteen years away. This is why The White Ribbon has been hailed by critics all over the globe. It is to be admired. It is a clever film. It is to be lauded for its social commentary - but a commentary of a society that has long since passed? Or is Haneke trying to suggest that this is happening again? Or could happen again? As usual, Haneke leaves it open-ended, he doesn't answer these questions. We never find out whodunit.

It is, however, never emotionally engaging. Encompassing so many characters, the audience is left bereft of sympathy or empathy for anyone involved. In a typical cruel move, the doctor, upon returning from hospital, tells the midwife, with whom he's been carrying on a clandestine affair, that she disgusts him. He then violates his teenage daughter. It's a very cold, joyless film. The innocent romance between the schoolteacher and the Baron's nanny (Benesch) lifts the dour mood when they're on screen, but in a drama almost lasting two-and-a-half hours, these moments are few and far between.