Up Among The Best Movies Ever Made, and So Good It Hurts

Rating: 10/10 (7 February 2010)

Here is a film that has already received its share of recognition, but few people are aware of it because it is sort of a well kept secret. Eventually, the film will earn even more well deserved accolades as people discover it, as they experience a powerful account of how evil lurks in the most unexpected places, and how tension can, without the aid of loud special effects, or contrived and overreaching expectations, can truly feel the human soul overwhelmed by forces that can destroy a soul.
Set in a small German village, the film focuses on some mysterious events that rock what at first perceived as a bucolic, peaceful, and nondescript community. In fact, initially, and throughout most of the film, as the drama unfolds, the town is portrayed as a very quiet place, where people might be bored, but they could be in any sort of danger. However, horrible things happen, and they can't be explained, or maybe, the town's inhabitants just chose to ignore them? If one is a careful observer, the signs are there: in the eyes of a child, in the gestures of an adult who moves a little too quickly, in the body language of most of the citizens who remain paralyzed when they should be looking for clues and solutions. There are in fact, too many questions, and not enough answer. There is a tacit acceptance that maybe the actions are justified, and it isn't until innocence is threatened that someone demands intervention.
There are magnificent performances here, particularly the ones by the young couple who portray the teacher and his fiancé, each giving each other plenty of information and acknowledgment about each's affections for the other during an era where there is much reservation and propriety, so much in fact that it provides a rather effective cover for the true emotions festering at the core of the village.
Symbols are important in this film, and most of them are based in the colors we see: black and white. White, supposedly standing for purity, and black, as being the absence of light, when things of all kinds happen. There are truly horrifying moments in the film, and although most of them are kept off the screen, their power overwhelms the audience, as lies pile, people become accomplices by their lack of reaction, and eventually, indulge in self denial and hypocrisy.
"The White Ribbon" has come in too late in the derby and lost its well deserved place in the list of best pictures for the year, but this is just in one group's perspective. I'm sure those of us who are lucky will know its importance, recognize its quality, and will walk away from the cinema knowing that a true classic has been born.