Somber. Moody. Slow.

Rating: 4/10 (27 November 2010)

It's not often that a film leaves me perplexed ("Inception" notwithstanding), but I must admit that I had a very difficult time understanding what was going on in this film. The children in this movie play a key role in the growing sense of menace and fear that permeates the small German village where they live. Someone is terrorizing the village, committing brutal crimes, and no one seems to be able to figure out what's going on. The children seem to be implicated in much of the mischief, but it's nearly impossible to tell them apart—which child belongs to which family. Is this kid the steward's son? The pastor's daughter? The Baron's child? It all gets too confusing. Maybe it's too much to ask of a contemporary German film (yes, it's recent, despite the early 20th-century setting and the black-and-white), but I would appreciate a bit more clarity, at least when it comes to differentiating the characters. I know the ambiguity in the plot is intentional and the whole thing is supposed to be some sort of extended allegory for the domestic roots of German Fascism and the titular white ribbon symbolizes childhood innocence and so on—but please. Enough already with the heavy-handed artiste-ry.