Whether it's the language of the lens or the entire rhythm narrative, watching Haneke's work has never been a pleasant thing. Like the last "Hidden Camera" with a horrible ending, "White Ribbon" is still empty, quiet and depressing. , seemingly silent, but it made me shudder again.
Haneke, as always, injected the style of "cold, precise, harsh and simple" into the film through a large number of empty shots and voiceovers, which made the whole film exude a depressing and suffocating temperament.
The whole story is very simple. It happened in a small German village before the First World War. It started with a violent incident that deliberately hurt a doctor, and then there were many violent incidents such as children being beaten and granary on fire. The whole village was filled with mystery and panic. Atmosphere, doctors, priests, barons, housekeepers, midwives, farmers and a group of children are involved.
In the black-and-white images, calm restraint is the keynote of the whole film. The foreign rural teacher acts as the narrator of the story. During the investigation of violent incidents, derailment, adultery, incest, these perverse behaviors are exposed, resist, Abuse, revenge, and punishment became the key words, and Se Li Nei Ren and the human-faced beast-heart became twins. This village is a microcosm of German society at that time. It seems to be prosperous and calm like water, but it hides an unspeakable sanctimonious and false morality.
In the story, the relationship between the old and the new generations has become the focus of the performance, intentionally or unintentionally. Parents represented by priests symbolize the supreme patriarchy. They have the absolute standard of judgment, and scolding, insults, beatings, and corporal punishment have become their ways to maintain their authority; while children suppress their individuality in such religious baptism and family education. At the same time, I also learned how to disobey yin and yang and conceal behavior.
Subtly, both adults and children advocate violence as the best way to solve problems, and use this behavior in the name of "punishing mistakes" - so when priests wear children's clothes to symbolize purity and the innocent white ribbon to make them more obedient and obedient. In the eyes of children, this has become a symbol of opposing patriarchy and challenging authority, and the person wearing the white ribbon can become the "King of Children". Also trying to play the role of a judge, which in itself is the greatest irony and mockery.
The scene is closed, the characters are numerous, and the way to solve the problem is surprisingly consistent, showing the mentality of the entire nation, even the entire country. What the endless violence reflects is a "collective unconscious", that is, the most terrible thing is not mistakes, but not knowing that you are making mistakes in the same wrong way. In such an environment, any extreme terror, power politics appears only a matter of time.
However, unlike the previous works, which reached a climax through violent catharsis at the end, the story ended abruptly with the bizarre disappearance of the doctor and others. Haneke did not find an outlet for the undercurrent violence, but let it continue to cover up the appearance of life. Below, waiting for it to break out will be World War II a few years later.
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