Product: La Pianiste (Original French Version)
Rating: 5.0
Aahhh...
...I considered Chapter 5 to be very important. This is the kind of movie that has to be viewed in its entirety, from beginning to end without interruption. I am not especially fund of dark stories, of sadomasochism. You may want to hold on to something that would make you feel secure and safe while viewing this movie. In a world of dysfunction, the main character, Isabelle Huppert, who plays Erika Kohut is among the top. She is a forty year-old piano professor at the Vienna Conservatory (incidentally she thinks that none of her pupils are good enough). She lives with her mother who worries about her daughter but in actuality is unable to face the fact that her daughter is an adult. Their co-dependency would make you sad. They sleep on the same bed and they even have fistfights! This dysfunctional relationship makes Erika among other things a voyeur. Erika meets a young man, whom she uses to act on her secret desires. He is sympathetically played by Benoit Magimel. Somewhere along the movie you wish she would listen to this man, but this is not a love story although a lot of `I love you' statements are uttered. Even the boyfriend thinks she is sick. It was petrifying to watch a scene where Erika performs an act of self-mutilation. The film never shows the details but the effect is tremendous. This movie drives you on the edge of your seat. It was a relief when it ended, although quite abruptly, so there goes another French movie that will make you think for a long time after the last frame.If you are already a fan of Isabelle Huppert, you will find this extraordinary and remarkable performance indeed worthy of a Best Actress award (2001 Cannes Film Festival). But if you cringe at the thought of a man hitting a woman but would like to get to know Isabelle Huppert, do not make this be your first movie. Watch something like Entre Nous or wait for Huit Femmes (8 femmes, also a 2001 movie). The Piano teacher is not yet rated in the US but if `Elizabeth' gets an `R', this movie easily deserves it.