Michael Haneke is undoubtedly one of the most
meticulous contemporary directors in the industry. His style is precisely what does
not allow him to reach all audiences, but those who know how to appreciate
the consistency of his works will also be able to appreciate his desire
to break the mold, by telling real stories, rooted in the man’s darkest nature.
With a black and white outstanding photography,
Michael Haneke presents a rural drama set in early twentieth century used as a symbol to evoke ideas that never come easily to the surface.
An older man recalls the strange events happened in a small
town in Germany during the years before the First World War, when he worked
there as a teacher. It all started when the local doctor suffered a serious
injury when his horse stumbled on an invisible wire located at the entrance to
his farm. Other events occur; some seem to be a punishment for previous events for which no one had been held guilty for.
The director, born in Germany but raised in Austria,
takes a step further with the challenge of this film, because instead of
focusing on specific individuals he used the whole group of a small German town
to tell a story about the presence of evil in society.
It is a mystery story which has no end, that is
immortal, that never reaches a definitive end; a story of a sick people, people
of shame, a town of sin, a town that shows us that there will never be justice,
because justice needs to be unanimous. It is the story that can be solved
personally by blaming a woman, a child or religion, but it never tells us.
This film severely critics a religious society looking for a punishing God: when the punishment is less than
they think or if someone is not punish as they see fit, they deliver the punishment themselves in the name of God.
It criticizes the way women are treated, young and adult,
as a sexual object, to whom no one talks about important things, or discuss any
decisions made, because their only use is to serve coffee to guests. It is a critic also to the
way they treat children as beings who must be beaten, beings who should be
punished for simply being.
To do this, Haneke employs a story whose development
is basically an excuse to show reactions and symbolism through the large number
of characters present in the film. What he wants to convey is operated in a
more intellectual level.
What is easy to appreciate is the visual beauty,
thanks to a large black and white cinematography that is highlighted by large
open shoots that the director uses. The film itself is a great exercise of style, that tries to bring the artistic side of cinema at its highest expression.
Not an easy film to watch but it is precisely this, together with all its ingredients, its aesthetics, its tone of protest, of
irony, of disappointment, the great casting and what it transmits in all
its cinematic language, which makes it a truly unforgettable film.
Director: Michael Haneke
Writers: Michael Haneke (screenplay), Michael Haneke
(story)
Stars: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi and Leonie
Benesch
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