IMDb RATING
7.8/10
78K
YOUR RATING
Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 62 wins & 48 nominations total
Burghart Klaußner
- The Pastor
- (as Burghart Klaussner)
Maria Dragus
- Klara
- (as Maria-Victoria Dragus)
Gabriela Maria Schmeide
- The Steward's Wife
- (as Gabriela-Maria Schmeide)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the adults are not given names in the film, instead being called Pastor, Baron, Steward, etc. This includes the narrator, who is only known as The School Teacher.
- GoofsWhen the teacher first meets Eva, some crew members and the camera can be seen in the reflection of the teacher's glasses.
- Crazy creditsThe opening and closing credits are shown in complete silence. There is no music or other sounds during both entire credit sequences.
- ConnectionsFeatured in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2009 (2009)
- SoundtracksO Sacred Head Now Wounded
(uncredited)
Lyrics from a mediaeval Latin poem
Music by Hans Leo Hassler
Sung in the church
Featured review
Exquisite and brooding mood-piece
Few film auteurs can match the consistency of Michael Haneke, and once again the Austrian filmmaker has come up trumps with an exquisite and brooding mediation on repression, tradition and the sins of the father.
Shot in stunning black and white, the film chronicles a series of mysterious events in a town leading up to the outbreak of WWI. The pace is slow and thoughtful, and the film is reference to August Sander while being a respectful throwback to the German expressionists whose work would come out of the horrors the film's narrative seems to foreshadow.
The hallmarks of Haneke's body of work are all there – elegiac tone, clinical editing, wincingly frank dialogue – but in many ways The White Ribbon stands alone in the canon. It is a challenging work that will polarise audiences but represents a breathtaking new wave not just in the director's career but in European cinema.
Some might say the film's inherent flaw is that there is no-one to root for, but this is perhaps its key strength. It's certainly plausible that this is Haneke's intention: he wants to position us as mute outsiders to a slowly creeping menace, unable to have a say in the invisible horrors that await us. The result is a deadening and thoroughly rewarding experience - a combination few filmmakers could hope to achieve.
Shot in stunning black and white, the film chronicles a series of mysterious events in a town leading up to the outbreak of WWI. The pace is slow and thoughtful, and the film is reference to August Sander while being a respectful throwback to the German expressionists whose work would come out of the horrors the film's narrative seems to foreshadow.
The hallmarks of Haneke's body of work are all there – elegiac tone, clinical editing, wincingly frank dialogue – but in many ways The White Ribbon stands alone in the canon. It is a challenging work that will polarise audiences but represents a breathtaking new wave not just in the director's career but in European cinema.
Some might say the film's inherent flaw is that there is no-one to root for, but this is perhaps its key strength. It's certainly plausible that this is Haneke's intention: he wants to position us as mute outsiders to a slowly creeping menace, unable to have a say in the invisible horrors that await us. The result is a deadening and thoroughly rewarding experience - a combination few filmmakers could hope to achieve.
helpful•19877
- mensch-2
- May 20, 2009
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- The White Tape or the Teacher's Tale
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $18,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $2,222,862
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $59,848
- Jan 3, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $19,319,671
- Runtime2 hours 24 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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