The White Ribbon (2009)

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?

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writers:

Michael Haneke (story), Michael Haneke (screenplay)

Stars:

Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 62 wins & 46 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 Dragus	...	Klara (as Maria-Victoria Dragus)
Leonard Proxauf	...	Martin
Levin Henning	...	Adolf
Johanna Busse	...	Margarete
Yuma Amecke	...	Annchen
Thibault Sérié	...	Gustav

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:

protestant ethic | sexual abuse | father daughter incest | year 1914 | east elbia | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some disturbing content involving violence and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

More than 7000 children were interviewed during the six-month-long casting period. For most of the adult roles, Michael Haneke selected actors with whom he had worked before and therefore knew they were suitable for the roles.

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Goofs

In the scene when the farmer sits next to his wife's corpse, the actress's breathing is noticeable.

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Quotes

The Doctor: My God, why don't you just die?

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Crazy Credits

The opening and closing credits are shown in complete silence. There is no music or other sounds during both entire credit sequences.

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Connections

Featured in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse/The Last Airbender/Grown Ups (2010)

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Soundtracks

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God
(uncredited)
Written by Martin Luther
Sung in the church

User Reviews

This is a movie against all extremisms

In an interview with the French newspaper "Le Monde" on 10/20/09, published on 10/21/09, Michael Haneke has explicitly and unequivocally declared his intentions in making the movie "The White Ribbon":

He intended to make a movie about the roots of evil. He said that he believed that the environment of extreme, punitive and sexually repressive protestantism in Germany, has laid the groundwork for Fascism and Nazism. He also said that he saw the same patterns developing in fundamentalist Muslim societies today, and that it is those societies that today were spawning terrorists and suicide bombers. Finally, he expressed the sentiment that "The White Ribbon" is a movie against ALL extremisms.

Michael Haneke has directed his vision in a very masterful and artful way: the cinematography, the acting, and the script are all superb.

The only problem I have is with the vision itself: The environment certainly plays a role, but to explain evil exclusively as the product of one's environment is simplistic and goes against common sense observation: The majority of people on this earth have grown up under repressive regimes and yet have NOT turned out to become murderers, mass murderers, terrorists or suicide bombers. Something is missing in the equation.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Austria] Official site [France]

Country:

Germany Austria France Italy Canada

Language:

German Italian Polish Latin

Release Date:

5 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

The White Ribbon

Filming Locations:

Evangelical Church, Netzow, Plattenburg, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$59,848, 3 January 2010

Gross USA:

$2,222,862

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,319,671

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