The Big Picture After his unofficial semi-retirement, Michael Haneke has stepped back from the spotlight, quietly falling off the radar. But lest we forget that he was a defining figure of 2000s cinema. One of his greatest achievements is his back-to-back triumph at the Cannes Film Festival, winning two Palmes d'Or in a row.
Release Date October 6, 2009 Director Michael Haneke Cast Christian Friedel , Ernst Jacobi , Leonie Benesch , Ulrich Tukur , Ursina Lardi , Fion Mutert Runtime 144 Main Genre Drama Writers Michael Haneke Studio Wega Film What Is 'The White Ribbon'? If The Zone of Interest can be called a Holocaust drama, then The White Ribbon is a pre-Holocaust drama.
Haneke Hides the True Evil of 'The White Ribbon' in the Audience Close Yet the cinematography isn't even the most stunning aspect of The White Ribbon. The White Ribbon is narrated by The Teacher after the fact, voiced by an older actor. This omniscient device places the film's perspective at least a few decades later, and we all know what happened in Germany in the 1930s to '40s.
Michael Haneke Suggests a Theory for Evil Where did the children get their evil from? It was not born out of thin air, and Haneke traces it back to their parents' generation. While most WWII films are content with depicting Nazis as absolute evil, almost like an alien entity, Haneke reveals their systemic roots. Living under widespread oppression, where verbal and physical violence are commonplace, the children resort to violence as an outlet.