from children to Nazis

I watched Austrian filmmaker, Michael Haneke's, The White Ribbon, 2009, this week and it's been haunting me for days. In fact, I think I might just have to watch it again, before I mail it back to Netflix. It's the account of a series of mysterious bits of sabotage, in a rural village in northern Germany in 1913, each directed at three powerful community leaders, the doctor, the baron, and the pastor. Though subtle, this film packs a serious punch. Details are deliberately left unanswered, which makes it eerily unsettling.

The movie was filmed in luminous black and white 1080p high definition, which very effectively lends to the psychological darkness of the film. It also has the feel of a classic film, without losing the brilliant range of blacks to gray scale, and pops with crisp chiaroscuro.

Although neither Nazism or Fascism is mentioned, the film gives much insight into their origins through the religious extremism and political terrorism which reigns rampant in this rural community. It's interesting to note the village pastor ties white ribbons on the arms of his children, as a form of punishment, and to remind them of righteous living, yet there is something very evil happening under the guise of purity. Historically, this same core group, 20 years later, turns to National Socialism, and takes on the black ribbon as the symbol of totalitarianism.

This movie has an evocative, chilling Ingmar Bergman feel to it. Don't look for a happy ending here. It's deep, intelligent and troubling. Add it to your queue and tell me if you don't end up thinking about it for days...or maybe even weeks.

The White Ribbon won the Palme d'Or for best film, and at the 67th Golden Globe Awards the film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.