Horrifying in its possibility

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2010)

Very lyrical use of black and white film, beautifully framed shots, and a stillness that first strikes the viewer as the peacefulness of a village, before gradually transforming into an unspoken dread of things that cannot be acknowledged or escaped. Like another film I reviewed, "The White Ribbon" investigates the negative repercussions in authority figures demanding nothing less than perfection and harmony from isolated individuals in an isolated community. In this film, however, the theme was more fully fleshed out, and shown from various character angles. The horror I felt as a viewer did not come from the use of the supernatural or from movie tricks, but from the recognition that the disturbing elements of this community were realistic, and that they thrived off of the relentless demand for correct behavior.