Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Dotbankey A lot of fun.

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

treywillwest There are few filmmakers to whom I have as mixed feelings as I do towards Haneke. My favorite films of his- Amour, Code Unknown- I hold to be about as great as cinema gets. The Haneke films I hold in the least regard, such as the two Funny Games films and The Piano Teacher (the latter of which I know some people hold in very high regard), I think are ill conceived exercises in misanthropic sadism disguised, I think even to Haneke himself, as some kind of moralistic lesson to the audience. This film, one of his most celebrated, for me falls into neither extreme camp- I just found it tiresome. Indeed, this is an example of a film that is well made on just about every level, that still manages to be unsatisfying. The craftsmanship here is of a very high level- the cinematography is great, the art direction flawless, the acting top-notch. Even the narrative is passably entertaining in a prosaic who-done-it kind of way (although the "surprise" ending is anything but). And yet, I felt I'd wasted three house watching it. Perhaps this is because the film's message seems to be: 1. Early 20th century German culture was hella Protestant. 2. Puritanical protestant culture is hypocritical and oppressive. 3. Therefor, the generation of children who grew up in such a milieu grew up to be Nazis. Then again, such simplistic, yet "important" thematics go over well at film festivals and award ceremonies.

Ivan Lalic Michael Haneke likes to make his movies long, slow and painful, so the story about the group of children that rain havoc in a desolated German village in the wake of the First World War doesn't differ much from that. However, besides the deviation and genuine disturbed characters that this story unravels, there isn't much to offer to viewer when it comes to script writing. Acting will be trademark quality, as in all of Haneke's flicks, especially when it comes to children. On the other hand, the very end will be abrupt, without the expected climax and a conclusive wrap up of tension being built from the beginning of the movie. ''The White Ribbon'' is a good European drama, but not an excellent one critics say.

SnoopyStyle It's pre-WWI in a small German village. An unnamed man recalls strange incidents when he was the village school teacher. Someone had strung a near-invisible wire between two trees. The doctor is hospitalized after his horse trips on the wire in his regular ride. Then a tenant farmer woman falls to her death in an industrial accident. The village is a strict harsh place. The puritanical pastor punishes his children with a cane and ties white ribbons on his children as a reminder of their need to keep their purity. The strange incidents continue. The movie ends with the start of the first World War.I would have liked the movie follows one single lead as he/she experiences and investigates these strange incidences. The black and white photography is beautiful. The cold everyday violence is interesting. The movie portrays a very effective hard oppressive mood. However it is a lot of mood but very little drive. Sure this is not the regular North American movie but I just want to follow the police investigating these incidences. It feels somehow distant to follow the various villagers and the narration.

krisrox Northern European literature is rife with family tales and coming-of-age stories told against the backdrop of Lutheran austerity. During its heyday - he 1970s and 1980s - Dutch and German filmmakers translated several of these novels to the silver screen, with reasonable results. But here comes Michael Haneke, an Austrian(!) director with the superb, original "Das Weiße Band" to belatedly capture Calvinist cinema's crown.Shot in stark black and white, "Das Weiße Band" transports us to a German village in the 1910s, where people work hard, pray hard and go nowhere, literally. If you squint, there's a touch of Twin Peaks here: Haneke's efficient script wastes no time introducing us to a variety of villagers, all of them struggling in one way or the other. Instantly, ominous things start to happen. Right from the opening credits, the atmosphere is captivating and believable. My grandparents grew up in the 1910s, and Haneke's sets look completely like their family photographs.Without giving away too much of the plot: this movie is very pretty, but contains some painful images. It is restrained and formal, but emotionally draining. It is not recommended for viewers who can't stand to see children get hurt. At the same time, it features some great, lighthearted scenes illustrating the social customs a century ago. The scenes with the schoolteacher and his fiancée are particularly priceless.Highly recommended.