Review of The Piano Teacher (2001) by Daniel K — 28 Dec 2009

4: Haneke is pretty ridiculous. He certainly doesn't make easy films and anyone that entirely enjoys seeing them over and over again is probably either a bit of a sadist and/or a bit of a masochist.

He is a master at making the audience writhe and squirm. No one can make you quite as uncomfortable, repulsed, and simultaneously enthralled as he can. It's as if he's purging himself of his sins, foibles, dreams, nightmares, and psychological issues with every picture.

He invites us to join in, sort of, but he doesn't really seem to make films with the audience entirely in mind. They seem much more personal. We're being given a window into the mind and preoccupations of an artist that only the greatest filmmakers manage to do effectively.

Despite everything, I always look forward to every new Haneke picture and want to see them again at some point as well (this is the second time for The Piano Teacher). It doesn't hurt that the film stars Huppert, who is without a doubt one of my favorite actresses currently working.

Everything she touches seems to turn to gold. She is absolutely fascinating on screen and absolutely beautiful despite her rather larger head and face (it didn't jump out at me at first, but now I can't help but notice it).

It's a riveting character and one we never really feel we fully understand. I'm not sure where she's off to in the end, but certainly somewhere I can't follow and I doubt many viewers could.

A brilliant performance and a brilliant film. I can hardly wait to see The White Ribbon.