The Roots of Evil

I love sunday movies. This isn't one.
This is more of a "rewarding experience" but not necessarily a pleasure to watch.

As Michael Haneke would put it:
"Films that are entertainments give simple answers but I think that's ultimately more cynical, as it denies the viewer room to think. If there are more answers at the end, then surely it is a richer experience."




If you didn't like The Piano Player, Funny Games or Hidden it will be hard to convince you to watch it.
The White Ribbon is everything you could expect from "The Ice King", slow, cold, long, but surprisingly stunning.



"The action takes place in a North German village shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.
One of the on-going arguments in Haneke's films appears to be the origins of human evil, or perhaps more precisely put, individual acts of evil behavior.
All along the movie we witness mistreatment and oppression of women, familial abuse of children, fetishism of strong masculine and patriarchal values, and the un-breachable divide between the rich and the poor.
Haneke seems to be diagnosing German society in the run up to the 'Great' War as one of authoritarianism, religious doubt, intolerance, and fear."