The White Ribbon (2009)
"Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte" (original title)

Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years just before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers seem to be at the heart of this mystery.

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writers:

Michael Haneke (screenplay), Michael Haneke (story)

Stars:

Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 49 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christian Friedel	...	The School Teacher
Ernst Jacobi	...	The School Teacher as an Old Man (voice)
Leonie Benesch	...	Eva
Ulrich Tukur	...	The Baron
Ursina Lardi	...	The Baroness
Fion Mutert	...	Sigi
Michael Kranz	...	The Tutor
Burghart Klaußner	...	The Pastor (as Burghart Klaussner)
Steffi Kühnert	...	The Pastor's Wife
Maria-Victoria Dragus	...	Klara
Leonard Proxauf	...	Martin
Levin Henning	...	Adolf
Johanna Busse	...	Margarete
Thibault Sérié	...	Gustav
Josef Bierbichler	...	The Steward

Storyline

From July, 1913 to the outbreak of World War I, a series of incidents take place in a German village. A horse trips on a wire and throws the rider; a woman falls to her death through rotted planks; the local baron's son is hung upside down in a mill; parents slap and bully their children; a man is cruel to his long-suffering lover; another sexually abuses his daughter. People disappear. A callow teacher, who courts a nanny in the baron's household, narrates the story and tries to investigate the connections among these accidents and crimes. What is foreshadowed? Are the children holy innocents? God may be in His heaven, but all is not right with the world; the center cannot hold.

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Plot Keywords:

baron | village | children | wire | horse | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing content involving violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Austria] Official site [Canada] (English)

Country:

Germany Austria France Italy

Language:

German Italian Polish

Release Date:

24 September 2009 (Austria)

Also Known As:

The White Ribbon

Filming Locations:

Evangelical Church, Netzow, Plattenburg, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$59,848 (USA) (1 January 2010)

Gross:

$2,222,647 (USA) (28 May 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film, Les Films du Losange

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All scenes were originally shot in color and then altered to black and white in post-production.

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Quotes

Martin: I gave God a chance to kill me. He didn't do it, so he's pleased with me.

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits are shown in complete silence. There is no music or other sounds during the entire credit sequence.

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Connections

Referenced in DR2 Premiere: Episode #4.2 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"O Sacred Head Now Wounded"
(uncredited)
Lyrics from a mediaeval Latin poem
Music by Hans Leo Hassler
Sung in the church

User Reviews

Gripping, exciting, focused

Das Weisse Band represents the kind of cinema that is cerebral, cognitive and dialectic without deviating from the conventions of classic storytelling. In examining the origins and nature of terrorism in human societies and psychology, the film quickly resigns from a simple depiction of country rural life in 1913 and transforms into a sadistic 'whodunnit' thriller with the main protagonists being two conflicting generations: the elderly and the youth. Das Weisse Band takes the risk of setting off too many narratives in accordance to the individual stories that occur, but the utterly terrifying aspect and power-point of the film is what we do not see happening in front of our eyes. Gripping, exciting, focused cinema.