Cannes Diary – THE WHITE RIBBON
Michael Haneke
The equal of anything Michael Haneke has made, THE WHITE RIBBON is set in a Protestant village in northern Germany on the eve of World War I. A series of disturbing and distressing incidents take place, which gradually assume the character of a ritual of punishment and torture.
Beautifully composed in black and white by Christian Berger, this is a brilliantly executed and intellectually stimulating work that creates an air of mystery, suspense and dread from the very first frame.
The film, like HIDDEN, is characteristic of Haneke in that it provides clues rather than answers. This is a rich and detailed work to be enjoyed on multiple levels; seeing it will be one of the essential requirements of the coming year.
Screen Daily called it “pregnant with the sinister undertones and evil deeds for which the film-maker’s work is legendary” while Peter Bradshaw at the Guardian claims the film “has an absolute confidence and mastery of its own cinematic language” and Sukhdev Sandhu calls it “a surprisingly affecting forensic study of social breakdown” in the Telegraph.
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