A little before the end of the world… the first truly great film of the year is simply an amazing story that portrays a world ready to surrender unconditionally to crime at any given moment…
Seeing the ‘White Ribbon’ by Michael Haneke gives you the impression that you are witnessing a historic moment; a moment that belongs to one of the greatest contemporary European directors who in this piece more than in any previous film touches the outer limits of classical (canceling out any previous concept of the instant classic), hitting avant-garde cinema, pretentious metaphors and movie sensationalism below the belt. All in black and white, this ingenious filmmaking demonstrates how the movies of Carl Dreyer would be if they collided with the hallucinogenic nightmares of David Lynch; Haneke works with surgical precision to portray a country at the verge of World War II through a dark story played within the “four walls” of a German village at the beginning of the century.
In fact the Austrian filmmaker illustrates in a rather nihilistic yet simultaneously humanist way, the rise of a generation which would in the years to come form the basis of fascist Germany, finally delivering a momentous film on human nature. Violence, crime, suspicion, and the secrets that have always thoroughly tormented any “closed” or “open” society become a turbine through Haneke’s eyes, which forces viewers and heroes into a direct conflict with their most humble instincts, while at the same time accepting how painful and subjective absolute good and evil can be.
At the heart of the film lay a number of mysterious crimes that provide victims but not perpetrators; the “White Ribbon” uses the larger than life canvas to narrate a compelling commentary on the end of the world by rewriting history from its inception.
Without doubt in the near future this film will be a reference point for many others; already in its year of production it has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and its characterization as a masterpiece is almost inadequate in describing the film.
The “White Ribbon” by Michael Haneke will circulate in Greek cinemas from the 29th of October.
