Incredible atmosphere, a feeling of absolute dread.

This film was good 👍🏼

The best international movie ever made! With the best cinematography ever done in a movie!

Das weiße Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte ist ein Film des Regisseurs Michael Haneke. Ein Film mit einer hoheitsvollen Strenge, die zu Unterdrückung, Demütigung und Unglück führen.

This is a somewhat uncomfortable, or perhaps I should say sobering, watch. It's got quite an arty feel to it and it seems to be about the fears of adults and parents, their children and their reactions to other peoples actions, also more generally repressing things society doesn't deem normal. It's a bit bleak - indeed its in black and white. It's somewhat thoughtful but not a very cheery film, of course. If you like this sort of world cinema then you may enjoy it but otherwise I wouldn't especially recommend it as such, no.

Alternative title: 'Children of the Cabbages'. Think Stephen King meets Ingmar Bergman. The White Ribbon is a film about human evil, told in many forms - cold indifference, a lack of empathy, excessive self-importance at the expense of others, perception, cruelty, and religious vigor to name a few. It doesn't exactly take a stance against these actions, avoiding painting any one character as a bulwark against the tide of hate, which is part of the point - anger begets anger and violence begets violence in a cycle that is essentially unbreakable. The black and white cinematography emphasizes the brutal nature of this fictional village that seems like a sort of hell, just one with a veneer of gentility and manners. The warmer aspects of humanity are deliberately snuffed out on as a matter of social practice, whether because of a priest's piety or a schoolteacher's rigidness. Sharply shot and featuirng some very good performances from its cohort of child actors, The White Ribbon is one of Haneke's more grounded (but not necessarily accessible) films, trading in his traditional fields of estrangement but with a morose, often unnerving atmosphere. But hey, he's bleak because there's often plenty of distressing material when you take a look at human nature. Apparently Christian Berger was nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography for this film. Which is odd, because looking at it you'd think Andrew Wyeth had come back from the dead to frame the imagery, but in a motion picture set in Germany for some reason. (4/5)

One of the most well-made, most subtle, and beautiful movies of all time.

With The White Ribbon, director Michael Haneke once again proves that he is one of the most versatile and eclectic auteurs working in film today. Set in a small German village prior to World War I, violent occurrences disrupt the inhabitants desire to maintain purity and innocence among the children, a taciturn group living under the iron fists of their guardians. At times cruel and heart-breaking, the movie taps into the basic primal need to be loved or, at the very least, wanted. Haneke allows shots to patiently run longer than one would normally expect, which is fine since the black and white cinematography is nothing short of stunning. Despite its slow pace, attention is required throughout in order to keep track of the large number of characters, all of whom play an integral role in the tapestry that is The White Ribbon.

A superb movie. It was certainly one of the best shot movies out there, at least of those I have seen. Adding to its visual splendor were the richly detailed and realistic sets. And an oft overlooked detail here, but the movie sounded great too. The one downside I can point to is that despite an excellent and well paced plot, I felt the movie's end lacked sufficient oomph and finality. Off to see more of Haneke's works. 98/100

Una de las mejores pelìculas de Heneke.

Born in Munich in 1942, Austrian director Michael Haneke has consolidated in recent times as one of the greatest exponents of European cinema. Renowned for his gloomy and disturbing style, Haneke delves into the dark human nature and the discomfort that it produces, and he often takes violence as a starting point. Haneke has acclaimed films in his repertoire, such as "Funny Games"(1997), "La Pianiste" (2001), or "Amour" (2012), which are essential to understand the keys and the development of his style. The vast majority agrees that The White Ribbon (‘Das Weisse Band') is his definitive film. A rather unknown but true masterpiece of contemporary cinema. Filmed in beautiful black and white, The White Ribbon is narrated entirely by the unnamed teacher (Christian Friedel) of a small German village in a time set just before the First World War. The opening scene shows the village doctor (Rainer Bock) suffering an accident on his horse, when he races into a rope that strangers stretched around two trees close to his house. There is neither an explanation nor a suspect for this event, that inaugurates a spiral of unbridled violence, which includes abuse towards women and children, animal abuse, and the unfolding of guilt and shame, with the incessant reminder of a white ribbon as a symbol of innocence and purity. The baron (Ulrich Tukur) acts as a feudal lord with his employees, and begins to exercise brutal domestic violence against his wife (Ursina Laudi), who tolerates his humiliations. Similar stories of marital ruptures and verbal / sexual abuse of minors, are just some of the atrocities that begin to happen in several homes of the town, and each story is described with chilling coldness and brutal despair. The whole set develops a micro universe that gives a preview of the German society that would come to reality 20 years later- when the children of the town reach maturity, they will transform their harsh reality into something tremendously sinister. Haneke does a profound and detailed research on the roots of a certain type of evil. Hypocrisy and irrelevance begin to grow inside the town, and the disaster begins to unfold. Deliberately, the film invites viewers into every corner of the town, from its huge mansion to its humblest home, finding in each one an air of restlessness and bewilderment. The "perfection" of the houses and the cordiality that the villagers display to the outside only hides the overwhelming darkness being lived inside. The behavior of the children participating in the film is fiercely analyzed and thoroughly absorbed. They are tremendously subdued small human beings, brutally indoctrinated by their elders. But they are also not innocent- they do as they see and are being told. Although the film has been interpreted as a representation of the origins of German fascism, Haneke is actually showing us the brutal consequences of abuse and authoritarianism in general, as well as the religious – specifically evangelical- intolerance and indoctrination that always existed. While The White Ribbon provides no final or easy answers, the film gives us a sublime and lucid experience in which one fundamental answer is raised to many of the problems and crimes that have been destroying our society since the last century. We are still immersed in a society unable to debate and find strong solutions, a society that is surprised and indignated of the atrocities that are committed everyday in the world. These events are the result and the consequences of the seed that has been sown. Haneke seems to argue that, until another great confrontation of nations happens, we will not realize the seriousness of the situation, that we are inside a pot that is about to explode. The White Ribbon is a gigantic artistic reflection that robs us from the false belief that we didn't see it coming, that we don't know the cause of evil. We are reluctant to look inwards, and the comfort of looking away prevents us from changing things,which leads to irremediable consequences. https://vinylwriters.com/the-white-ribbon-2009/

I'm not adverse to slow films, but this is one that could have benefited from a few cuts. The last 3rd was enjoyable though, when things started to progress more rapidly. I often find Haneke's films leave me feeling a bit empty (which is not necessarily a bad thing), and this was no exception.

Michael Haneke has a way of making patience engaging and he does so to tremendous effect in The White Ribbon, painting a unflinchingly realistic portrait of a village tearing itself apart made all the more impactful by the incredible black and white cinematography.

The White Ribbon is an 2009 Historical Drama Written and Directed by Michael Haneke, one of the best foreign filmmakers. He wrote and directed films such as Caché, The Piano Teacher, and both the original and remake of Funny Games. The film follows how a strange event in a small Austrian village in 1913 can cause so much suffering to a few local families. The best thing Michael can do in his films are tone. Michael always uses almost to no musical scores to create this eerie silent atmosphere. There’s no use music to give the audience a moment of relief, or to remind them that what’s happening on the screen isn’t real. Like usual, the cast did a fantastic job and their characters were amazingly written. Michael knows how to direct his casts, and write fully fleshed characters. I could be wrong on the acting because the film is entirely spoken in German and I cannot fully tell if the cast is saying their lines at the right tone or pronouncing them right, so I mostly judge on their body language and facial expressions. The White Ribbon is another masterpiece from Michael Haneke, and it became one of my favorite foreign language films and it could even be one of the best I’ve seen.

Haneke's masterpiece

Black and white photography, slow pace, frames, every aspect of this film gives you the feeling of a loveless, sterile society, in which violence rules, even if it does so in an imperceptible way most of the time.

4/5 The White Ribbon feels like a masterful novel brought to life through the powerful images of the tale it holds, as timeless and peculiar as it should be.

It's well worth watching, and has an ambiguous narrative that would reward re-watching. It's a bit of a hybrid beast, being some part period piece and almost some part horror or sci-fi. It sits in a strange world.

Il film vorrebbe raccontare la Germania prima della guerra, mostrandoci come il popolo tedesco fosse culturalmente "propenso" ad abbracciare il nazismo (che doveva ancora nascere). Da un film con questa ambizione mi aspetto che sia molto realistico, invece mi pare che il film si prenda molte libertà in modo da poter associare alcuni aspetti proprio al nazismo (segnalare i riottosi con un nastro bianco, che dovrebbe simboleggiare la stella di David che veniva indossata dagli ebrei in epoca nazista). Inoltre mi pare che spesso si voglia far ricondurre la propensione al diventare nazisti alla sola voglia vendicativa e burbera dei paesani (spesso usano punizioni corporali sui bambini per educarli), il che mi pare un po' semplicistico. Infine è un film un po' noioso, e questo fa si che sia insufficiente.

Amazing cadres, very picturesque; but it's boring as hell! After reading some discussions about the movie, i understood what "the white ribbon" is.. or should i say who the white ribbon is?