The White Ribbon

That was awesome! A hard, unpleasant and very intense psychological drama. I’ve just watched it and I feel as if Haneke had ran me over with a steamroller. The White Ribbon is a truly impressive mosaic of relationships in an Austrian village before WWI that reveals the origins of human hatred and corruption. It’s almost like a realistic Twin Peaks. (01/01/2010)

Set against the backdrop of those horrific events, The White Ribbon reveals the warped morals and stifling atmosphere of a German village, which escalates as the number of atrocities escalates. The spasmodically punctilious and often unnecessarily cruel upbringing of the children blinds the minds of the villagers in their search for the real culprits – unable to even admit or consider that their offspring might have had something to do with it... A very impressive drama indeed, with excellent child actors, in which interpersonal relationships and concealed loathing are excellently portrayed alongside unidentifiable evil (Haneke really takes the gloves off for this one). P.S.: I was pleasantly surprised by the almost full capacity of the multiplex. :) 90% (24/01/2010)

Michael Haneke is an excellent author who can surprise you with each of his films because each of his films is different. It is a different genre, often a different style, although it is true that his films usually have a slower pace. Here, you will be absolutely captivated by the black-and-white execution, even though the film was not originally shot in black and white, but later adjusted to black and white. (12/04/2016)

In a respectable one hundred and forty minutes, Haneke uncovers a truly incredible cabaret of the demeaning, hypocritical, vengeful, and cruel. The most depressing analysis of a closed society you're likely to come across. And the film pulls this off on its own without any judgement. In this work, the door plays a major role. (02/07/2010)

A personalized and surgically accurate analysis of evil in German society before the First World War. Haneke's analytical sadism, which deprives the viewer of a direct view of suffering, creates very unpleasant feelings on the body and soul. In its stylization, the deliberately cumbersome and static film is reminiscent of faded black-and-white photographs, but beneath their cold surface, it reveals a repulsive machinery of humiliation, class jealousy, perversions and injustices. Unfortunately, although The White Ribbon appealed to me intellectually (the film is brilliantly devised and completely rationally composed so that it can speak comprehensively), it missed the mark emotionally (despite the enjoyment from the director's brilliant approach, I remained only a cold observer throughout). It can therefore be assumed that the film will attract mainly fans of Haneke's depersonalized and exploratory view of the dark side of the human soul. For others, it can be either an enticing intellectual plaything, or deadly boredom. (13/01/2010)