This film prompted me to view and truly appreciate the mastery of filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer and his "Ordet" 1955

Rating: 6/10 (11 March 2010)

Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke's films are always serious & content controversial, with complex emotions, mostly joyless and lacking in warm lovingness, never sentimental. So they are definitely NFE: not for everyone. In "The White Ribbon" 2009, delivered in stark black & white, the film is to the point of austere. Hence when a glimmer of love beckons, peering through all the somber, mind-provoking issues paraded in front of our eyes - like the rare occasional smiles between the two demurely cautious young lovers of the village schoolteacher (played by Christian Friedel) and Eva, his fiancée-former nanny to the baron household (played by Leonie Benesch), you'd probably try to hold onto that flickering candle light and keep it closely guarded throughout the film as the young man did, so to come out (alive) of whatever consequences the story results in. Though skillful cinematography by Christian Berger of natural landscapes, village scenes contrasting specific interior lighting of the characters and situations, contributed to the flow of the 'filmic' journey.
The story is told with a narrator from the perspective of the schoolteacher recalling from his memories. It is true of Haneke's treatment here is likened to a mystery unraveling - but certainly not anything like what you might expect of the genre. He's merely providing 'facts' and pieces of information that could clue us in to what may be going on. Haneke has the polished sophistication of leaving it up to the viewers to contemplate the meaning of what we see on screen as he presents them. Yes, you might say going to a Michael Haneke film is in itself an introspective experience, potently emotional or provocatively intellectual (or both). Content is substantial, with multiple characters from adults to adolescents to children, doctor, baron, pastor, farmer, steward of a village community, and the turn of events keep coming one after another - intriguing more than entertaining. The film is in German with English subtitles, and dialog is not sparing at all (pardon the pun), mercilessly so. The runtime is 2 hours and 24 minutes.
You can easily find the synopsis or plot points spelled out through reviews and discussions on the Web, including the official Sony Classics site at "sonyclassics.com/thewhiteribbon". Press Kit with Haneke Q&A is available as PDF download. You may relish more by seeing the film without prior extensive exposure to the story. In any case, I felt there are parallels to Dreyer's "Ordet" (Danish for "The Word") with just as many characters and relationships, sequence of events, community pressures, yet through anger, arguments, anxious anticipations, the radiating realm of faith, belief in God and that miracles could happen provided more positive energy with forgiveness and retentive love emphasized. In "The White Ribbon", such 'goodness' human elements seem obviously scarce - the single image of the schoolteacher and Eva riding the carriage together stayed with me, echoing their smiles as a slim hope of coming through, thick and thin.
If you like Haneke, this is a must-see. If you want to try a Haneke film, go see it with an open mind and leave any figuring out of plot points after the movie, to discuss or further explore (or neither). "Ordet" of Carl Theodor Dreyer's? Yes, that is a must-see, whether you believe in miracles or not.