The eve of war

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2010)

The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band) tells the story of a small German village and the strange occurrences that happened in the months leading up to World War I. The film begins with an accident involving the doctor. He falls off of his horse and is severely injured. This is the first of several strange and out of the ordinary incidents.
There is tension building between the lower class and the upper class. The major conflict stemming from the death of a worker's wife. While the husband tries to look past it his son refuses. Other groups like the Baron's son and other children arise.
The film is narrated by the school teacher, telling the story many years after the incidents occur. He lets us know that even he is not sure of what happened, and what he is telling us might not even be true, much like a story passed down should be set up. It's not a perfect retelling, but it is (hopefully) accurate. What a story it is.
Each individual character has their own story. The school teacher, the Baron, his wife and son, the doctor,his daughter, the midwife, the preacher, his wife and children, the nanny, and the list goes on with several minor but important characters. Story lines intertwine and combine to construct a complicated web. It's very well written (Haneke penned the screenplay) and paced perfectly. There are several themes and conflicts that arise here. Marriage, faith, loss of innocence, death, abuse, just to name a few.
Filmed in stark black and white by Christian Berger (who worked with Haneke on Cache and The Piano Teacher). This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful films I have seen in a long time. There are some hard issues and startling images, but the camera makes each shot look like a work of art. Choosing to film in black and white gives the film an older quality simply because black and white tends to be associated with older films. It also makes light and shadow vitally important in helping to tell the story. There are no colors to help determine emotions and feeling, just white, black, and in between grays. One mistake could render the image unusable. It's a pleasure to watch a film that pays such close attention to each shot.
I was very pleased with the end. Throughout most of the film we are trying to figure why these horrible things are happening and in most cases who is doing them. Haneke keeps us guessing right through to the end. I'm not sure how others will fell but I felt very satisfied. I invested a lot of energy and emotion and continued feeling for the characters and thinking about the film long after it was over. That's my favorite part about great films. The ability to stay with you after the credits roll. Haneke succeeds.