Wednesday, December 02, 2009

The White Ribbon

This is a very bleak film, set in a German village on the eve of the first world war, filmed in back and white, in German with subtitles.
When a riding accident is found to be caused maliciously, the suspicions start to fly, and when a tragic accident follows soon after, suspicions continue, even though they may not be warranted.  There are further crimes, and suspicions, but very few get resolved.
There is no car chase in the film, or chase on horseback, or even on bicycle, because a chase would require some idea of who it is that is causing the mischief.
There is no nudity in the film, because there is no need.  When the characters have already laid their souls bare, in some superbly bleak dialogue, there is little that nudity could possibly add.
The story is told by the school teacher, who is quite an engaging character, and one of only two that I ended up caring about by the end of the film.

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