I struggled

Rating: 7/10 (27 March 2010)

'The White Ribbon', or 'Das Weisse Band' for you Germanians, is the latest product from the mind of Michael Haneke; who is up to his eye balls with festival awards and academy nominations. For those uneducated, he's one of the most acclaimed non-English language filmmakers working today. He won the Palm D'or last year and was nominated for the Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Film in the Oscars.
There is little argument to suggest 'The White Ribbon' didn't deserve the former of those nominations. Shot in stunning black and white for that pure cinematic look, it proves that you don't need colour to show off the great German countryside. If nothing else this is surely worth a rent just to look at. I don't necessarily have an issue with the latter nom (seeing as I haven't seen all of the films in that category) but I really can't recommend this for the average movie-goer, if there is such a thing.
Set in the few months before the First World War, 'The White Ribbon' tells the story of the residents of a very small village coping with a number of "accidents": one injured doctor, one dead woman and one dead horse.
There is the underlying mystery as to who perpetrates all of these shenanigans but what takes the main stage is the family drama in response. In the first 40 minutes there are a number of very sensitive and sometimes moving scenes, one of which has a young teen attempting to explain death to her younger brother. The raw style in which it is delivered makes it un-sentimental; it's just a shame that it in end it never amounts to much. I've always admired Haneke's 'epic theatre' style but this time, unlike the thriller 'Hidden', I don't believe the story was conclusive or emotionally satisfying.
What mars the first part is that I really struggled keeping up with all of the characters and who's children were who's. It seems kind of like trying to remember the names of everybody in your class but in a significantly shorter time. Ironically, it's a good thing the film is so damn long, otherwise I think I would have had to watch it again to understand what was going on. But the plot never seems to get active enough to excuse that sort of running time. I was unsure of what the priority was, seeing as the accidents keep coming but never seeming to be the main centre of interest until the final act. I wasn't bored, but I imagine a lot of people not used to this sort of thing will be.
I know some will instantly label this as pretentious. It's got all the hallmarks of pretentious film making, for example, with its attempted "White/innoncence" symbolism going on, I admit this much. But seeing as the acting, cinematography and editing are all so fine, I seriously think only slight tweaking with pacing and plot would make this film a great one.
So should you see it? I'm sure Haneke fans have all seen it by now, so they're out. All I can possibly say is that I, a foreign film fan, was underwhelmed. Make of that what you will. For those interested, I suggest renting it first.