Who's the Culprit, Who's the Victim?

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2010)

Another winner from proficient writer-director Haneke.
While the linking of parental oppression and abuse with national (in this case German) characteristics, that seemingly led to the horrors of WWI and later to Nazism, seems a trifle too easy a solution, this otherwise superb study of human cruelty comes up trumps.
No other contemporary director is able to create such a compelling atmosphere of subtle discomfort and hidden menace while imbuing every scene with a sense of dread and foreboding. The black-and-white photography is just as marvellous as the impeccable cast (with some of the children particularly outstanding.) And the story-line is perfectly balanced, with Haneke's familiar refusal for clear explanations fully intact.
Those who call Haneke's work emptily nihilistic should take a look at the world around them: It's much worse. And through the pair of young lovers and a bird-loving boy he shows us what's also possible: kindness and sympathy, features most of this pic's characters surely cannot cope with.
9 out of 10 white ribbons