THE WHITE RIBBON

Written and directed by Michael Haneke

Christian Friedel
Ernst Jacobi
Leonie Benesch
Ulrich Tukur
Maria-Victoria Dragus
Leonard Proxauf

Premiere date: May 21, 2009 (Cannes Film Festival)
R for some disturbing content involving violence and sexuality.

In a village in Protestant northern Germany, on the eve of World War I, the children of a church and school run by the village schoolteacher and their families experience a series of bizarre incidents that inexplicably assume the characteristics of a punishment ritual. Who could be responsible for such bizarre transgressions?

Cannes Film Festival

Palme d'Or

FIPRESCI Prize

Cinema Prize of the French National Education System

Trailer for The White Ribbon

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or at Cannes earlier this year for The White Ribbon, which focuses on a children's choir in northern Germany just before World War I. The film is also playing at Telluride and Toronto this month.

The international trailer just recently made its way online, and it looks great. I'm of the opinion that black and white is criminally under-used today. I think it makes for some beautiful imagery when used correctly (the red coat in Schindler's List comes to mind), and I love to see modern filmmakers put it to good use.

Germany selected the film as its official entry to the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film race, and it also picked up the FIPRESCI Best Picture prize last month. It may be the most decorated film of the year so far.

The White Ribbon will hit US theaters December 30th.