The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke)

[pro-bassoonist]

Michael Haneke's Das Weisse Band a.k.a The White Ribbon (2009) has received a preliminary release date for the UK: March 8. Winner of the Palme d'Or, FIPRESCI Prize, and Cinema Prize of the French National Education System awards at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Courtesy of Artificial Eye.

The White Ribbon Blu-ray preorder March 15


Official UK site and trailer:
http://www.thewhiteribbon.co.uk/

Variety:

Immaculately crafted in beautiful black-and-white and entirely absorbing through its longish running time, Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon” nonetheless proves a difficult film to entirely embrace. Stressing, as usual, a conspicuously dim view of the world, the Austrian writer-director here spins a mysterious story about a series of untoward events in a rural village in pre-World War I Germany to advance the notion that malice is arguably the dominant human trait. Haneke’s eminence will provide automatic access to Western art cinemas (Sony Classics acquired North American rights on the eve of Cannes) and prestige Euro tube slots, but there is a medicinal quality to the film that suggests a limit to its appeal even among the faithful.

Perhaps closest to his two-part 1979 TV film “Lemmings” that scrutinizes the ills passed down from generation to generation, but similar as well to a number of his other pictures, including his 2004 international hit “Cache” (Hidden), in its refusal to clearly solve the deadly central mystery, this ironically titled film goes beyond its general analysis of humanity to implicitly suggest some tendencies in the German character and culture that could point to certain developments in the subsequent three decades.

“The White Ribbon” is structured around a string of misfortunes that befall citizens of Eichwald, an agricultural community where half the population works for the Baron (Ulrich Tukur) and where the stern Protestant pastor (Burghart Klaussner) wields a strong influence, especially on the children. In the opening scene, the local doctor (Rainer Bock) is severely injured when his horse stumbles over what is soon discovered to be a trip wire someone deliberately stretched between two trees.

Not long after, the wife of a farm worker dies from a fall through the Baron’s faulty barn loft floor; blaming the Baron, the woman’s hot-headed son slashes the boss’s cabbage crop, and the Baron’s son is found beaten and tied upside down in the barn.

Marbled in between such occurrences are slashing glimpses of village life, including the pastor’s brutal caning of his children over a mild disturbance; a woman’s frustration at a musical accompanist who can’t keep up; and a little boy’s questioning of his nanny about death, in the course of which he learns that his own mother, supposedly away on a long trip, is no longer living. The rare expression of genuine childhood innocence and good will is occasionally tolerated, but more often squashed, by the grown-ups, but even children’s own true nature comes increasingly under a cloud, to the point where “The White Ribbon” feels like a thematic companion piece to “Lord of the Flies.”

The only warm narrative thread is the endearingly bashful courtship between the pudding-faced young school teacher (Christian Friedel) and 17-year-old Eva (Leonie Benesch), who works as a nanny at the Baron’s estate. The ever-so-gradual blossoming of their romance is a tickling delight, even though one suspects Haneke will throw a monkeywrench into it.

As the harvest season passes into winter and then toward what one eventually realizes will be the start of World War I in the summer of 1914, the village’s misdeeds morph into genuine atrocities, resulting in mutual distrust among longtime neighbors and the arrival of outside police. There is enough potential guilt to be spread around among a number of possible culprits, but this remains a whodunit cloaked both in the mists of time and in the collective nature of the human beings under investigation, and hence, a mystery not of suspense but of suspicion.

The villagers here live a mostly isolated existence far more redolent of 19th century life than of the mechanized 20th century that will soon engulf them, and the film meticulously conveys both the physical realities of the times and of the moral strictures under which almost no family is a stranger to child abuse, malicious behavior, adultery and premature death. About the only leading character immune from such a stigma is the childless one, the schoolteacher who, in a welcoming older voice (Ernst Jacobi), also serves as the sorry tale’s narrator.

Craft contributions are superb in every respect, notably production designer Christoph Kanter’s simple, geographically coherent rendering of the village and Christian Berger’s detail-filled monochromatic lensing. Only music is that briefly heard from natural sources within the film.

The pic's full German title translates to "The White Ribbon: A German Children's Story."

Camera (B&W), Christian Berger; editor, Monika Willi; production designer, Christoph Kanter; art director, Anja Muller; set decorator, Hans Wagner; costume designer, Moidele Bickel; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS), Guillaume Sciama, Jean-Pierre Laforce; associate producer, Stefano Massenzi; assistant director, Hanus Polak Jr.; second unit camera, Leah Striker. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival (competing), May 20, 2009. Running time: 144 MIN.

Pro-B

[Konrad]

Saw it in the theater and was deeply impressed A beautifully crafted exceptional movie! I am looking forward to the blu-ray!

[Moviefan1203]

I've yet to see The White Ribbon, but I have very high hopes for it. I'm really hoping that it is worthy of being added to my Blu-ray library. I will be keeping this UK Blu-ray release in my mind as I should be seeing this picture shortly.

[The Driver]

Greatest living -and still working- European director.

[McCrutchy]

I can't wait to see this...and four months is a long time to wait!

[crey014]

Does Kino still have rights to the US release of this? Or is it under Sony Pictures Classics like Hidden?

[The Driver]

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1;-1&sku=881316

Put that on my to buy list.

[zombie63]

A truly unforgettable film , haunting and disturbing.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I would really like to get this. Any word on a Region A release anytime soon?

John

[ksc2303]

Originally Posted by crey014

Does Kino still have rights to the US release of this? Or is it under Sony Pictures Classics like Hidden?

Sony Picture Classics. They started theatrical screenings last month (I'm going to see it in Dallas next week) so a US blu will probably be in the summer

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by ksc2303

Sony Picture Classics. They started theatrical screenings last month (I'm going to see it in Dallas next week) so a US blu will probably be in the summer

They didn't release Cache (Hidden) on blu in the states, do you have any particular reason for thinking this one is coming out in the summer?

Just curious.

[ksc2303]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

They didn't release Cache (Hidden) on blu in the states, do you have any particular reason for thinking this one is coming out in the summer?

Just curious.

Sony Pictures Classics as far as I know has been releasing all their current releases day and date with dvd and Blu-ray. The only one I can think of off the top of my head that they only released on dvd was Ashes of Time Redux. Moon came out this past month and according to this thread Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces is coming in March. I don't have any inside information but summer would be my guess for a home video release of The White Ribbon in the US. I think there is a region free UK Blu-ray of Cache though?

[rich_adamson]

Originally Posted by ksc2303

Sony Pictures Classics as far as I know has been releasing all their current releases day and date with dvd and Blu-ray. The only one I can think of off the top of my head that they only released on dvd was Ashes of Time Redux. Moon came out this past month and according to this thread Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces is coming in March. I don't have any inside information but summer would be my guess for a home video release of The White Ribbon in the US. I think there is a region free UK Blu-ray of Cache though?

They never did release " I Served The King Of England" on Blu-ray either. That came out about the same time as Ashes Of Time Redux too.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by ksc2303

I think there is a region free UK Blu-ray of Cache though?

Yes.

Blu-ray Review: Hidden (Caché) (2005)

Pro-B

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by ksc2303

Sony Pictures Classics as far as I know has been releasing all their current releases day and date with dvd and Blu-ray... I think there is a region free UK Blu-ray of Cache though?

Yeah the UK Cache has been on my wish-list for a while now. I put the forthcoming UK White Ribbon on that list as well, but nice to know there's a strong possibility that it will be released in the US. I was kind of hoping that the Broken Embraces release might mean there was a chance this might happen. Thanks for the reply.

[sokh1985]

Well according to this uk editor prior history, it should be region free, there is one exception though, with a region free but 50hz release

Here

[pro-bassoonist]

Artificial Eye:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=116

Pro-B

[jedilips]

Just got notice from Amazon UK that this has been pushed a week to 3/15.

[McCrutchy]

Anyone got info on the extras?

EDIT: Never mind

From Play.com:

# UK exclusive interview with Michael Haneke
# Theatrical trailer
Exclusive to Blu-ray:
# Making of documentary
# Portrait of Michael Haneke documentary
# Cannes Film Festival featurette

[Mr. Brightside]

Very much looking forward to this one. Our nearest cinema is a 30 mile round trip, so had to miss this during its theatrical run. Haneke's films usually have great replay value so will be good to view this at last