"I gave God a chance to kill me".

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2011)

I haven't seen a more disturbing film in recent memory except perhaps "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". Unfortunately, the film begs for, but does not achieve a resolution to the chain of horrors perpetrated by and on the citizens of Eichwald, Germany in the years prior to the outbreak of World War I. Told through the eyes of narrator Christian Friedel portraying the school teacher, the picture offers brief glimpses of the upright citizens of this small village, the Pastor, the Doctor, the Baron, the Steward, all outwardly stalwart men and models of behavior. However underneath, they harbor their own inner demons that find expression in such horrors as physical and verbal abuse, pedophilia, and corruption. What is even more disturbing is that their behaviors present a role model for their children, who turn their attention inward and are allowed no outlet for their own self expression. This is revealed early in the picture by the young Martin (Leonard Prohauf), son of the Pastor who traverses a railing atop a high bridge, to the chagrin of the Teacher. While courting death, the youngster seems to be inviting punishment for his own sins and failures as he reasons that God had a chance to kill him but declined for some other unknown purpose.
What's so agonizing about the picture is that the children may have learned all too well from their parents' behavior. The Pastor's daughter Klara, taking a pair of scissors to the parakeet was truly chilling. The off screen abuse of the Baron's son Sigi, and Mrs. Wagner's retarded son Karli, present untenable question marks in this drama, demanding a justice that is not forthcoming, and leading to more questions than answers. Just as you think you can qualify a reasonable guess as to who might be responsible for the trauma in the village, seemingly unrelated events occur to cloud your focus and divert attention. That is perhaps the picture's stunning achievement and corresponding failure at the same time.
To be sure, this is not an easy film to watch, and certainly not one to be enjoyed. Though I'm unfamiliar with the works of director Haneke, this film sets me on still another path to explore with the brooding approach he brings to to film making. I haltingly reserve further judgment until then.