_The White Ribbon_: Not Another Nazi Movie

In Michael Haneke‘s new film The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band), people get hurt, leading others to search for a culprit. A calm, quiet town in northern Germany quickly begins to unravel, and a child’s response to the violence is almost as disturbing as the crime itself.

One of the town’s most prominent and respected citizens, its pastor, has a harsh method of punishment to teach his children right from wrong. When they don’t live up to his expectations, he ties a white ribbon to their arms as a sign of sin—a physical reminder that they should be living a purer life. It’s not exactly a yellow star, but he marks them for others to see, ostracizing them from their classmates.

The White Ribbon Michael Haneke Abe Fried-Tanzer

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke is no stranger to controversial subject material. His recent films include The Piano Teacher, Caché and the English language shot-for-shot remake of his own divisive 1997 film Funny Games. With The White Ribbon, he returns to his native language and a searing look at pre-war Germany at the turn of the century. His choice to film in black and white — when the themes and morals explored in the film are anything but black and white — is especially interesting, and provides a fascinatingly clear lens to view its story.

20th century films about Germany usually focused on one thing: Nazism. There’s no mention of Hitler or the war in The White Ribbon, but there’s a theological undercurrent you can imagine leading to Nazis–to persecution based on race and religion. Since the criminals are never identified, everyone’s to blame. And the film’s narrator even wonders if perhaps the severity of some of the townspeople led to these events – a punishment for the entire town.

An extraordinary intriguing film, there’re many moments to contemplate in The White Ribbon. The story is slow but fully engaging, and has a foreboding tone that never lets you relax yet keeps you vehemently interested. For those who like their films tied up at the end like a bow or a ribbon, this isn’t for you. The narrator reveals right at the start that the criminals will never be brought to justice. It’s the search and suppression of guilt that’s remarkable. The White Ribbon raises questions but doesn’t necessarily provide answers.

The White Ribbon Four Stars Michael Haneke Abe Fried-Tanzer

The White Ribbon opens in theaters nationwide December 30.

Related posts:

A Serious Man: The Review

Inglourious Basterds: The Review

What do you think?

About The Author

21 Responses

  1. Anonymous

    Long before that nighttime soap brought him international tag heuer fame, Forsythe worked steadily in both film and TV, earning an Emmy nod back in 1953. Forsythe also tag heuer contended at the

    Reply
  2. Anonymous

    Prior to airing the two-hour series finale, there will be a replica watches one-hour recap of all six seasons of this 2005 Emmy winner for best drama replica watches series. Then after the replica watches show, Jimmy Kimmel Reply

  3. Anonymous

    Tom Quinn, senior VP of Magnolia, calls replica watches this an incredible achievement on so many levels. On average, less than 50 specialized films replica watches a year cross the $1 million mark, so to see our little program replica watches blossom int

    Reply
  4. Anonymous

    Dylan won the Oscar in 2000 for his replica breitling watches original song Things Have breitling watches Changed for the film Wonder Boys. Bennett Marcus attended the wrap breitling watches party for Ugly Betty and details the highs and lows

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    But he’s dug himself a partisan hole with this big bill, and it’ll be interesting to breitling watches see him try to dig his way out. On the one hand, an Academy Award is nothing to sneeze at. Bullock has Reply

  6. Anonymous

    Since the iPhone first launched in 2007, AT&T has had tag heuer watch he exclusive contract to offer it in the U.S. Details of the agreement have never been made public. But AT&T has hinted in recent months that it is preparing for

    Reply
  7. Anonymous

    There has been no confirmation from Apple or Verizon about the launch of this device. That said, there was never a question that AT&T’s exclusivity deal with Apple would end replica watches o

    Reply
  8. Anonymous

    There has been no confirmation from Apple or Verizon about the launch of this device. That said, there was never a question that AT&T’s exclusivity deal with Apple would end replica watches o

    Reply
  9. Anonymous

    Customers will expect it to be in parity with what is offered breitling watches by AT&T and other GSM carriers. That said, the Journal story said the upgraded breitling watches GSM iPhone is being made by Taiwanese contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    Engadget pegs the date of the fourth-generation rolex watches iPhone announcement for June 22. Engadget also reports that the fourth-generation GSM iPhone will have rolex watches an enhanced screen that will be made for HD video with double the resolution

    Reply
  11. Anonymous

    Make that a long, deep breath. It could be at cartier watches least five months to nearly a year before a Verizon version of the iPhone is available. The original Journal cartier watches article reported that production of a CDMA version of the iPhone wou

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This will close in 0 seconds