Das weisse Band (The White Ribbon) (2009)

German director Michael Haneke made "Cache" in 2005, a film that was lauded by critics and made many best of the 2000s film lists, even topping one that I found online. I regret to say that I have yet to see "Cache," though it's been sitting in my Netflix queue for a few years now, sinking lower and lower on the list as more newly-available titles catch my eye.

That's a problem I will need to rectify soon, after having seen THE WHITE RIBBON (Das weisse Band). A Golden Globe nominee for best Foreign Lanuage Film, THE WHITE RIBBON is a meticulously photographed and mysterious film with a super-slow pace and a fascinating story to tell.

Shot in gorgeous, antique black and white, the cinematography and mise-en-scene are the stars of THE WHITE RIBBON. Set just before the outbreak of World War I - with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand shocking the locals toward the end of the film - THE WHITE RIBBON is set in a small German town where strange things have been happening. It is a town where repression is all but absolute; the adults, let by a few in particular, don't seem to allow their children to do anything. The town minister goes so far as to tie white ribbons to his children. A reminder, he tells them, of purity.

Despite the stifling control over the children demonstrated by most of the adults, several key items begin to indicate that trouble is brewing. Some acts of parental dictatorship cross the line into physical, emotional and even sexual abuse. And townsfolk become the victims of random acts of shocking violence that stand to tear families apart. A doctor is seriously injured. A barn is burned. A child with disabilities is tortured. And this is not all.

The action is narrated by the town's school teacher, the one who starts to figure out what is happening here. And thought I doubt that many will see this film, I don't want to spoil his revelation by revealing what he believes.

As I mentioned before, the camera work in THE WHITE RIBBON is fantastic. Haneke very frequently keeps the frames static in sumptuous medium-long shots and has his actors create the movement within the frames. This allows for a slow-moving pace, which will not be to everyone's liking. I must admit that the two-hour film felt much longer, even for me. But it seems to fit what is happening here. Even the director is exerting the tight control that the adults in his film force upon the village children.

Ultimately, THE WHITE RIBBON is about the dangers of enforcing innocence. It's about being overbearing and overprotective. It's about adults holding children accountable but not themselves. It is an interesting, if not quite emotionally satisfying, film.

3.0 out of 4