Prior to the First World War, according to The White Ribbon, mysterious and unsettling events plague the citizens of Eichwald, Germany. First, the doctor of the village receives a terrible injury when his horse trips over a wire placed between two trees inexplicably. The events to follow are expressed through the eyes of the village’s school teacher. Unnamed, he guides the viewer through the year in which he met his fiancée Eva while exploring the dynamics of the children, doctor, baron, and pastor among other characters in the Eichwald. Several more bizarre attacks happen throughout the year, as the school teacher sways Eva into falling in love.
Director Michael Haneke has made a beautiful and frightening film. The movie, rather effortlessly and slyly, drifts between scenes of suspenseful tension and romantic outings. More often than other films, viewers might find themselves shifting from laughing to crying to feeling a joyous rise in their heart as they watch the school teacher and Eva become romantically attached. While, those moments in the film are uplifting, there are scenes in The White Ribbon that are truly haunting. Terrorist acts befall several members of Eichwald’s community, including young children.
Not to say that people should avoid this, in fact, the opposite is true. After viewing this film, audiences will leave astonished. The movie unfolds in a way that is entirely unexpected, but not in the way of a cheesy twist.
Haneke’s work has not only impressed many critics and movie goers, but also has won the director the 62nd Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, as well as the 2010 Golden Globe Best Foreign Film award and two nominations at the 2009 Academy Awards. Though the awards are enough to convince almost anyone to see the film, let it be reiterated, this is a brilliant work of art. Anyone who goes to experience The White Ribbon will be rewarding himself.
