Today I introduce a plot released in 2009, a suspense film: White Ribbon
Co-filmed by Germany, Austria, France, Italy. Directed by Michael Haneke
Starring Susanna Rosa susanne lothar
Theo Trebos.... ferdinand
Maria-Victoria Dragus
Eno Trebus enno trebs.... georg
Leonard Ploschaef leonard proxauf.... martin
Jannia Forts Janina fautz.... erna
Ulrich tukur
Burghart Klau ner
Josef Belbich josef bierbichler
jadea mercedes diaz .... eva's sister
marisa growaldt .... magd
michael schenk
steffi kühnert
anne-kathrin gummich
dragus paraschiva
sebastian hülk .... Max
kai-peter malina .... Karl
michael wreath .... tutor
ursina lardi .... baronin marie-luise
leonie benesch .... Eve
christian friedel .... lehrer
lilli trebs
vincent krueger
sara dodge .... nursemaid
hanus polak jr. .... 2. Detective
marvin ray spey .... hans
leonard boes
ole joensson
levin henning .... pastor's son adolf
aaron denkel
Film Description: In a gloomy and cold environment, it tells the story of a small German mountain village on the eve of World War II, a group of children of a choir, living in a big family of castle owners, missionaries, doctors, and farmers, and strange things happen one after another, as if the punishment of religious rituals.
The film begins with a series of inexplicable strange events in a small village: first the local doctor is tripped by a rope on his way home on horseback and is not lightly injured, and then the son of the landlord is tied up and whipped. The title "White Ribbon" appears at this time, which means purity and innocence, but it is also a symbol of humiliation, and children who are suspected of having nothing to do with these two things must wear it to remind them that they are saddled with deep sins and need to purify their hearts. As it should be, retaliatory violence ensued.
Set in a rural village in northern Germany between 1913 and 1914, on the eve of World War I, the story recalls a series of incredible events that took place through the eyes of a teacher who had taught in the village and her fiancée. Surrounded by dukes, sharecroppers, doctors, widows, priests and a group of German children, these events were fraught with infidelity, betrayal and exploitation, and harsh corporal punishment that sowed an unpredictable curse for this peaceful village.
However, like McHannek's past works, the most horrific events are definitely beyond what the viewer sees. The real chilling thing about "White Ribbon" is that it is actually a child who grew up under the oppression of corporal punishment and environmental exploitation, and became an elite absorbed by the Nazis during World War II, and eventually endangered and shook the entire European continent.
Average review score: 7.8
◎Behind the scenes
Harneck, a drama director by training, participated in the Cannes Film Festival's 1997 film Happy Hearts, which attracted widespread attention and was nominated for Best Screenplay. In 2000, he again wrote and directed the film The Unknown Code, which won the Best Screenplay Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2001 he brought the film la pianiste (piano teacher), a somewhat shocking film that caused a sensation, winning many film awards and winning the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, his self-written and directed film Hidden Camera finally won him the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition, his other works, such as The Seventh Continent (1989), Fluorescent Blood (1992), 71 Fragments of Opportunity Chronicles (1994) and Fun Games (1997), have been shortlisted for or screened at the Festival de Cannes.
The 2009 masterpiece White Ribbon is a clean, translucent black-and-white film set in an isolated village in northern Germany on the eve of the outbreak of World War I. Michael Haneke's new film returns to the classic themes on which he became famous: sin, betrayal and violence. His actors act impeccably, and the director himself, as always, injects his typical style — cold, precise, harsh and simple — into the film.
In an interview with the media about the award-winning film "White Ribbon", Michael Haneke's answer was as follows:
What made you revolve the film's theme around such a German village on the eve of World War I?
I spent over 10 years on this film, and my main purpose was to explore how a group of children whose values were induced were a**** and how they saw themselves. If we take up a principle or an ideal, elevate it to politics or belief, and become absolutely supreme, it will become extremely barbaric and even terrorist.
One of the themes I also envision in this film is "The Right Hand of God," in which the children take these ideas and punish outliers who don't obey 100 percent. Moreover, the setting of this story in Germany cannot be simply regarded as a film about fascism, but rather a more accurate statement would be about the pattern of unity and the ideal of corrosion, which is the crux of the global prevalence.
Why use black and white images when shooting?
The images we are familiar with today at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, from the mainstream media (e.g., photography, newspapers), were all black and white, but through the paintings of the time and the related films we saw, our perception of the 18th century was colored. I love black and white, so I just happened to have this opportunity. It also inspired me to use this as a special narrative to create a distant effect. The focus is on finding the right medium to portray your subject.
Do the themes of violence and sin mean a return to the style of your work?
In all my films I try to explore these themes. In today's society, the problem of violence is inevitable. As for sin, because I grew up in a jewish and Christian environment, it is a pervasive subject. You simply don't have to be bad to feel guilty: it's already a part of each of our lives.
There are so many characters in White Ribbon, how did you select and direct these actors?
In terms of selecting actors, I looked for faces based on the photos of that era, and in more than 6 months we found more than 7,000 children, and in fact this work was even more arduous later, because it was not necessarily the most appropriate to select only from the physical appearance, but also to have talent.
As for adults, I pick actors who have worked with me and whose work I know better. So when directing them, I usually only point them out when something isn't quite right. If the whole team is good, then the actors' work will also go very smoothly.
The plot asks far more questions than the answers given.
There's nothing to explain here. My principle is to always ask questions in order to avoid being too explicit – telling a story where the audience can find the answers for themselves. In my opinion, things should be opposite and contradictory, and the audience will definitely not be a colleague of the director. In order to achieve this effect, I will try my best. I think art is all about asking questions rather than giving answers, which is called uncertainty, not danger.
◎Tidbits
In 2001, a stunning "Piano Teacher" won Michael Haneke the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2005, he again won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival for Hidden Camera. At this year's closing ceremony, the president of the jury, Isabelle Huppel, personally presented the Palme d'Or to Haneke, the heroine of "The Piano Teacher", which is the second time in 14 years that eastwood personally awarded the Palme d'Or to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. In his acceptance speech, the director, who specializes in heavy subjects, said: "Joy is often rare, but now is a really happy moment in my life. "
In an interview, Michael Haneke revealed that he had initially planned to make "White Ribbon" into a three-episode SERIES.