From the opening credits, Director Michael Haneke grabs us by the lapels and he never loosens his grip. There is nothing particularly bombastic about the credits. They roll quietly in stark black and white. Yet, it generates an immediate feeling of tension. Throughout "
The White Ribbon" (
Das Weisse Band), which is also shot in black and white, this tension permeates, not unlike a classic horror/mystery. The closest comparisons I can come up with are the spooky "Village of the Damned" and "Children of the Damned", both sci-fi classics from the early 1960s. But while there is certainly evil and depravity at work here, this is more mystery/drama and less pure horror. It's fair to say that below the surface lurks an unknown, powerful evil that grows stronger by the minute.
The setting is a small village in Northern Germany just prior to World War I. It's a significant setting for the message Haneke is attempting to convey, but to tell you more would be unfair. Suffice to say that a possible conclusion that one could draw from what we see makes for entertaining debate in the future. Sorry if that is a bit confusing but I'm not about to spoil this one for you or color your judgments with my own interpretations.
A series of mysterious events, some of which are extremely violent, shakes the village to its core. While it takes a very long time for the truth to be revealed, there can be little mistake that the force at work is evil incarnate. But we are given few clues as to the identity of the perpetrator who is pulling the strings. Most of the citizenry works for the Baron (Ulrich Tukur). He and his wife, the Baronin (Ursina Lardi), tend to their young son who suffers from an affliction that makes him particularly vulnerable. A good deal of "The White Ribbon" focuses on this family.
However, the town's Protestant pastor (Burghart Klaussner) wields a different sort of influence, especially on his own children. We first learn that something is amiss in the opening scene, when the local doctor (Rainer Bock) is badly hurt while riding his horse. It is quickly discovered that this was no accident as was originally thought. Someone has tied a wire between two trees causing the horse to fall. More incidents occur. None are solved. Tension soars both in the village and on-screen until the truth is finally revealed and it is chilling.
Haneke first flexed his mighty directing muscles in "Caché." With "The White Ribbon", he has hit a new high -- one which most directors can only dream of attaining. The film's Palme d'Or award is well deserved. There is not a single false note here and the entire presentation, including acting, story, look (and however else you judge film) is near classic-film quality. "The White Ribbon" deserves whatever ribbons are bestowed upon it. It is hard to imagine it not winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and it may be the best film of any kind that I've seen this year.
