Oh, get off your high horses guys...

Rating: 2/10 (10 March 2011)

I'm no stranger to Michael Haneke's movies, especially when it comes to the ones that have often gotten much attention. Haneke is a very interesting person; however it also goes without saying that I have only seen one movie of his that I enjoyed: The Piano Teacher. What was great like that was its suspense buildup and its dark comedy. There are some scenes wher eyou don't know if you should be horrified or humored (BTW people, Haneke even said it himself that he looks at the movie as a Dark Comedy).
However, Of all the movies I've seen (the mentioned PT, alongside Cache, Funny Games US, White Ribbon and Seventh Continent), I've only really enjoyed PT. I find the trouble with Haneke is that his movies, while they aim for something, end up making Haneke someone who hates his audience. For example, Funny Games, a movie I despised, tried to get the "Kids, violence is bad, mmkay?" message across, but ended up beating the pish out of the audience with it. It's almost as if he has no respect for his audience, and like my dad always said, "Difference doesn't equal talent".
The White Ribbon, while being slightly better than the average Haneke movie, is unfortunately a hair different than the rest. What managed to keep me interested was its gorgeous B&W cinematography; it was very creepy brooding. However, the film's snail pace and shallow story prevents it from getting anywhere, and in the end, the film relies on its gorgeous cinematography to carry on for two and a half almost pointless hours.
Basically here we have an interesting concept- taking place in a town in pre-WWI Germany, a series of disturbing happenings including an (overly fake and CG'ed) accident which happens at the beginnng. More disturbing crimes keep happening, and nobody will admit to doing it, which leads to resentment towards the town leaders. More accidents keep happening and people still don't know who is responsible; though it is hinted at times that the Children could be the people in charge.
This sounds interesting. That's what I thought before entering the theatre. However, since most of the accident scenes are simply implied, the movie's mystery becomes harder and harder to follow. What is even more frustrating is how Haneke ends the movie without even providing a proper resolution. But while that worked for "The Piano Teacher" because it left the viewer with a sense of foreboding, here it just leaves the viewer angered.
In short, this movie was a mediocre way to spend 140 minutes, which felt longer, and while Haneke may be making art, art is as art does and the movie does very little. In short, it's a very grand argument in style over substance, though I guess would be recommend worthy for its B&W visuals.