The White Ribbon

15 / Michael Haneke / 2009 / The White Ribbon / Germany/Austria
Set in a Protestant northern German village on the eve of WW I, the film tells the story of the children in a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. A series of inexplicable events and accidents occur and disturb the quiet village life, gradually taking on the character of a punishment ritual. The schoolteacher observes, investigates and little by little discovers the incredible truth, recounting the events years later. Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon won the Palme d’Or in Cannes this year.