There is a cinema in London that was hoping to be the city's home of the film 'The White Ribbon.' The small two-screen cinema is to be found next to Shepherd's Market in Mayfair, an area home to embassies, five star hotels, classy restaurants, expensive but authentic English pubs, and brothels indicated by doorways lit by pink bulbs. The cinema is named for Curzon Mayfair, 75 years old and the original cinema of what is now a commercial art house chain.
The cinema might have lost any heart it once had through countless soul destroying renovations in the last 75 years but it does make sense for it to be the home of 'The White Ribbon.' It is after all a cinema owned by the film's UK distributor. Artificial Eye made it the site of the film's UK premiere in the London Film Festival and decided to have it showing on both screens in staggered start times.
The commercial interest in the film as it won the top prize at Cannes this year meant that Curzon Mayfair would never be the only home to 'The White Ribbon'. It can be found as well at the BFI Southbank, Barbican Centre, Phoenix Cinema and The Ritzy, cinemas with a bit more of an atmosphere than the Curzon Mayfair.
Curzon made two missteps in still giving the image as being the home of 'The White Ribbon.' The first by tying a giant bow around marquee. Perhaps to suggest the film is pure and shouldn't be entered into by people that aren't the ideal German. Secondly by having quote posters for the films. Haneke, like many great film directors, can't be quoted. An example of one poster, 'Have you ever wondered who tortured Karli?' This is why you can't quote Haneke, that isn't even the line in the film. Haneke is a master filmmaker but not one that can easily generate fanfare.
In defence of Curzon, 'The White Ribbon' is a gruelling cinematic masterpiece grand in scope and tenderly capturing that seems like it deserves some sort of fanfare. It may not be my favourite film from Haneke but is without a doubt his most beautifully composed piece of cinema yet.
'The White Ribbon' tells of a town in Germany on the eve of World War One and the disturbing violent actions going within the community, some acts of violence are identified with a culprit, other acts are not. It is these anonymous acts of violence that drives the mystery of the film as the schoolteacher recounts events in an attempt to understand Germany at that time and in the times that followed.
Even if the schoolteacher is the closest thing to a protagonist we have in this expansive film (with maybe 15 central characters) it is the village's children that are key to all the events that drive the film. Haneke casted the children pitch perfectly. Some very young actors give the film some of it's most moving moments, in particular in a nightmarish sequence in which a 6-year-old boy stumbles across his father doing something horrendous. It is truly a testament to the children themselves and Haneke's skill as a director.
It is hard to know what exactly Haneke intended to investigate with this film. At one point the schoolteacher suggests in retrospect that the horror of this village could help to explain things that came after. One assumes this refers to the world wars and the crimes committed within Germany and it is impossible to ignore that the children of this time would have been adults during the Nazi regime. If this link is never made explicit, Haneke does compose an image of a community rift with a cruelty that still plagues us now and can manifest in war. Haneke's village is by no means specific and in lacking direct references makes the violence and horror universal.
One could say it is a pessimistic take on humanity but 'The White Ribbon' may be the most hopeful film Haneke has made in his long term interest in the suffering humans inflict on each other. Even when audiences craved hope in, say, Funny Games, Haneke denied them even a glimpse. Here we are given moments, images, of human kindness, seen when the son presenting a bird to his cold father or a romance brews between the schoolteacher and a nanny.
This is a film not interested in answering questions or solving mysteries about humanity, but rather simply making observations. At the end of this quiet, dark film it is up to the audience to make up their own mind, we asked to use our imagination and that is perhaps the best thing a filmmaker can do for us.
