The White Ribbon

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When the answer to the whodunit mystery of Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon is a resounding “everyone”, but specifically, “no one”, then you’d expect to be disappointed.  That’s not the case with the tragic and uncomforting events that plague a small German village, governed by the walled-in structure of its own manor, right before World War I.  Beautifully shot and unnervingly psychological, Haneke’s original script is a layered masterpiece of psychological suspense and natural black-and-white beauty.

Clocking in at a robust 2 hours and 25 minutes, Haneke’s narrative is exquisitely paced, unfolding with ageless grace and understanding.  Beginning with an aged narration (Ernest Jacobi) that calls to attention the very facts behind the story about to be told, The White Ribbon slowly dissolves from a lengthy span of black to an open field just inside the perimeters of the village.  At once, there is the unexpected brutality of a simple horseback riding accident in which the villager’s doctor (Rainer Bock) is gruesomely injured, but his accident is only the beginning.  In the pastoral town of Eichwald, the children obey their parents out of blind loyalty to Protestant law and not from any actual understanding of it, no matter how brutal or shocking or despairing the judgmental “accidents” become.

There is a crisp friendliness caught in the celebrations of the seasons around Eichwald; people are respectful, they tip their hat as they pass, and there is a general air of pleasant gentility, yet something seems off about it – not unlike the Mississippi town of Yoknapatawpha William Faulkner once wrote about.  Eichwald is delicately draped with respect and strict social order, yet – under closer examination – one can’t help but notice the snag in its fabric of wholesomeness.  Every formality hides a stark cruelty.  Inside the village, the fathers – identified solely by their profession alone – might rule their wives, mistresses, and children, but it is the children – beaten and molested by their fathers - that judge the town.

While the film corrupts innocence with brutality, the camera slowly settles in on the daily happenings of Eichwald Manor and its surrounding village.  There are accidents at work and in the fields – which kill and maim – abductions that lead to senseless beatings and/or the blinding of its victims, mysterious barn fires, and a general attitude of calm helplessness pulses through the citizens.  Even the police, arriving from a nearby town, have no explanation for the occurrences inside the hamlet.  Yet, no one is untouched by them: the household of the Baron (Ulrich Tukor), the schoolteacher (Christian Fiedel), the doctor’s midwife (Susanne Lothar), the Steward (Josef Bierbichler), a tenant farmer (Branko Samarovski), and perhaps most harrowingly, the Pastor (Burghart Klaussner).  The children, when not the victims of the mysterious happenings, are, interestingly enough, merely curious as to the nature and response of the events, and only affected through the harshness of the governing adults.

In this Shakespearean-like tragedy of human consequence, the understated use of black-and-white cinematography (courtesy of Christian Berger) serves only to remind us of the harsh and unforgiving nature of our own humanity.  Taken on its own, the cinematography – almost photographic in nature thanks to the draining of its color – would lead one to think of civility and pastoral nostalgia, but – in context – that is not the case.

The White Ribbon is about a terrorist-like evil picked straight off some symbolic Tree of Knowledge by the feeblest of fingers and overpoweringly ripe with flowing juices as its stickiness spreads.  It is an unforgettable narrative about the past and how we used to treat ourselves, our neighbors, and – most importantly – our families.  Too abstract for the Hollywood-minded, Haneke’s narrative works because it doesn’t concern itself with defining problems or providing solutions.  It thunders murderously forward – and rather successfully so - by obfuscating the traditional construction of psychological terror.  Haunting and extremely unsettling, The White Ribbon, as a societal treatise on the effects of guilt and repression, might just be the scariest – and most beautiful - ghost story ever told.


Component Grades
Movie
DVD
5 Stars
5 Stars
DVD Experience
5 Stars

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - June 29, 2010
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English, English SDH
Audio:
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)

Richly rewarding, the 1080p AVC encoded high definition presentation on Blu-ray is a visual treat of eye-popping clarity and depth.  Never before have I seen such quality in its constant definition of lines and shadows.  Details are nicely thrust forward in the daylight scenes and, at night, the dramatic happenings are terrorized by an ever engulfing blackness that swallows the picture.  Movement can be seen, not as detailed, but noticeably visible enough to challenge the viewer.  Some may like this and some may not.

Mainly driven by dialogue, the Blu-ray’s audio presentation comes with a couple of options. The first is German 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio presentation with English subtitles and the other option is for English narration, German Dialog subbed in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio.  Rolling with option one is highly suggested as clean dialogue is perfectly matched with ambient noises of life in the village and on the manor.  There is little use for a soundtrack (other than those ambient noises), so keep this in mind while watching.

Supplements:

The Featurettes are as follows:

Cannes Film Festival Premiere (18 min.): Basically this is a collection of rather roughly-edited red carpet shots and Haneke answering questions at a Q&A session.

Interview with Michael Haneke (14 min.): Haneke reveals the original plans for the movie on television, then as a two-part movie, and finally the whittling down of the story it eventually became.

Making of 'The White Ribbon' (39 min.):  Extremely informative and visually engaging featurette that covers the issues present in the theme of the movie, with a surprising root to terrorism.

My Life (50 min.): A brief biography about Michael Haneke, who loves to provide his audience with the ultimate non-answer in all of his films.  Chock full interview-styled moments with Haneke covering the beginning of his life on to his directorial career.

Theatrical Trailer (2 min.)

Previews (HD):  The Blu-ray comes with the trailers for The Secret in Their Eyes, Get Low, A Prophet, Chloe, The Last Station, Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky, Waltz with Bashir, and Wild Grass.

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