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, Michael Haneke (story)

Stars:

Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 59 wins & 39 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
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:

protestant ethic | year 1914 | village | children | small village | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Austria] Official site [Germany]

Country:

Germany Austria France Italy

Language:

German Italian Polish

Release Date:

5 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

The White Ribbon

Filming Locations:

Evangelical Church, Netzow, Plattenburg, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$59,848, 3 January 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,222,647, 30 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

For the dubbed French version, the narration was provided by Jean-Louis Trintignant, who went on to become a frequent collaborator of director Michael Haneke.

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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

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 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 1,001 Movies You Must See (Before You Die) (2014)

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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

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.