The White Ribbon (1 Viewer)

Moods For Mallards

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I saw this last night.
Enjoyed it a lot. Thinking about it now, it seems less intersting to say that it foreshadows Nazism and what not. In fact, it seems kind of clichéd.
But it was fascinating at the time.

How do you do that spoiler thing?
 
The imagery was incredible but I love anything shot in black and white. I just felt uneasy the whole time. Interesting is the only word that comes to mind. Would I watch it again, probably not. Am I glad I did, yes. I'm still thinking about it so I suppose that says something. Worth it for the doctor/midwife scene, brutal.
 
I thought it was good in its way but i wouldnt say i liked or enjoyed it.

I'd watch it again tonight.

There's a little boy in it who is the most innocent character in the film. He nurses a bird back to health and then presents it to his father because he feels sorry for him after the father's bird is killed.
And it is plain as day that the child is going to be a Nazi like everyone else in 25 years' time. I thought this was quite powerful.

I read a few articles about it this morning and there are a lot of suggestions that Haneke is presenting fascism as a symptom of sexual repression and the end result of a society that grants alternately absolute power or complete disenfranchisement in every relationship, at the most micro level. Complete power met with deference and the odd burst of spite and revenge, over and over.
I'm not sold on the sexual repression element, given the kind of debauchery indulged in by the aul Nazis, but the latter line is an interesting enough one.

As in other Haneke movies, I'm not sure it really matters who committed the crimes. I think they were perpetrated by various people: the children, the midwife, the farm labourers. The point is that these are all powerless people venting in a violent way. I suppose the torture of the Downs' syndrome kid doesn't quite fit that bill.

THe acting is great, from everyone. And it looks great.
 
Loved it and will definitely watch it again.

Agreed on the scene with the little boy giving the bird to his father. There was also the added hypocrisy of his father seemingly forgetting that the bird was to be released when it recovered. It can also be seen as the little boy symbolically giving up his own free will to his father and showing him that he will be the caged bird that his siblings refuse to be which is I suppose what you were saying about him possibly becoming a nazi down the road. I could talk for hours about this film. So rich.
 
Loved it and will definitely watch it again.

Agreed on the scene with the little boy giving the bird to his father. There was also the added hypocrisy of his father seemingly forgetting that the bird was to be released when it recovered. It can also be seen as the little boy symbolically giving up his own free will to his father and showing him that he will be the caged bird that his siblings refuse to be which is I suppose what you were saying about him possibly becoming a nazi down the road. I could talk for hours about this film. So rich.

Yeah, that's a better articulation of the little boy/bird/dad bit.
 
Like Moods, I enjoyed it while I was there but unlike other Haneke films, I can't say it resonated with me or stayed with me much afterwards. It looked lovely and was beautifully shot, but I felt it lacked something (not sure what though). The acting was superb too, especially all the kids.

I had the misfortune to see it in the new IFI cinema 3. Never again. Anyone else been there yet?
 
I had the misfortune to see it in the new IFI cinema 3. Never again. Anyone else been there yet?

That's where I saw it. Like a private cinema. Maybe in Bill Murray's house. Too many idiots deciding they had to go to the jacks. I got the prime leg-room seat though.
 
That's where I saw it. Like a private cinema. Maybe in Bill Murray's house. Too many idiots deciding they had to go to the jacks. I got the prime leg-room seat though.
The front row? The best place to sit.
I sat in the 2nd row. The seats feel very low down, but the backs of the seats in front of you are quite high and are in you line of vision. Plus if someone sits in front of you, as happened with me,you're screwed. I was missing some of the subtitles.
don't know how they got this so wrong.
 
I'd watch it again tonight.

I read a few articles about it this morning and there are a lot of suggestions that Haneke is presenting fascism as a symptom of sexual repression and the end result of a society that grants alternately absolute power or complete disenfranchisement in every relationship, at the most micro level. Complete power met with deference and the odd burst of spite and revenge, over and over.
I'm not sold on the sexual repression element, given the kind of debauchery indulged in by the aul Nazis, but the latter line is an interesting enough one.

As in other Haneke movies, I'm not sure it really matters who committed the crimes. I think they were perpetrated by various people: the children, the midwife, the farm labourers. The point is that these are all powerless people venting in a violent way. I suppose the torture of the Downs' syndrome kid doesn't quite fit that bill.

THe acting is great, from everyone. And it looks great.

Yeah, I think that is pretty much the crux of the film there re:repression sexual or otherwise will always find a way to bubble up from under. I do think the sexual repression is key though and I think fits perfectly with the nazi debauchery since sexual repression leads inevitably to unhealthy sexual expression.

Totally with you on the fact that it doesn't really matter who perpetrated each act and that it was most likely a selection of the disenfranchised. About the downs syndrome kid I was thinking that was a reference to the aryan race purity aspect coming down the line.
 
The front row? The best place to sit.
I sat in the 2nd row. The seats feel very low down, but the backs of the seats in front of you are quite high and are in you line of vision. Plus if someone sits in front of you, as happened with me,you're screwed. I was missing some of the subtitles.
don't know how they got this so wrong.

Also, why do people feel it's okay to talk during subtitled films? Jesus, I'm crankypants lately. Two best seats are the one in the back row on the aisle. Plenty of leg room and no one in front of you.
 
Saw this today and liked it alot. It's definitely one that will have you thinking about it for a while and as has said already it was beautifully shot. With regard to the repression aspect, sexual or otherwise, I wouldn't see that as being exclusive to Germany around this time, I thought there were many parallels with Irish history for example. It no doubt did play it's part in the rise of fascism but of course so did many other things. The attitude of the people in the village to the Baron stood out for me in displaying how fascism could have so easily spread during this time. They had little choice but to fear and respect him if they wanted to survive. It's something I've always wondered about, how much did the average person know about and how much of a choice did they have to become involved with fascism.
 

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