The White Ribbon

Germany, 1913. In an outwardly respectable and quiet Protestant village, strange and disturbing events begin to unfold. The local doctor is thrown from his horse after riding into a wire strung across the road. Someone kidnaps and beats the baron’s son. Fires break out, houses burn down, people die. Are these merely a series of unfortunate accidents — or carefully orchestrated acts of punishment?

This multi-character black-and-white cinematic novel portrays life on the eve of a great war — presumably World War I, though in the end, it hardly matters. Within the expertly crafted format of a false detective story, Haneke shrouds the truth in mist without stooping to literal explanations. Oh, what beautifully bleak black-and-white illustrations. The pastor diligently teaching children to fear God. The doctor, who despises his mistress and casts unsettling glances at his daughter. The baron's family — helpless, confused. The anxious farmers. And, of course, the children — the central figures of this tale, the future of Germany, tidy little beings with empty, ominous faces.

"A German Children’s Story" — that’s the film’s subtitle. These are the very same children, with their typical Aryan features, who by 1933 will have grown up and taken up arms and torches.

 Winner of the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and nominated for two Academy Awards.