On Tuesday November 23 at 8pm in the Dean Crowe Theatre, Athlone Film Club will present the Palm D’or and Golden Globe winning German film, The White Ribbon.
Michael Haneke’s visually stunning and Oscar nominated mesmerising work surveys the life of a rural Protestant village in northern Germany over several months from 1913 to 1914 ending on the eve of World War One.
Shot in sparkling, iridescent black and white, a series of disturbing events provide the backdrop to Haneke’s brilliant and ruthless examination of a society that admits to nothing and hides everything.
As the young schoolteacher begins to court a shy governess, the brutalising reality of village life is slowly laid bare. The local children play a key role; as they gravitate towards every violent incident, it soon becomes apparent that they are members of a society that prizes discipline as a virtue, even when it borders on abuse.
Their elders, Protestant to the core, are committed to a value system based on obedience and punishment. As the schoolteacher attempts to assert his principles, he finds that they inevitably collide with the strict, harsh rules of the village.
All this is accomplished with utmost rigour and control on the director’s part.
Though an analysis of the roots of Nazism can be read in the narrative, the film has a more universal reach. Haneke maintains that the work is as much an investigation of terrorism as it is of fascism. Both provocative and elegantly executed this is essential viewing.
Come along at 7.30pm for a complimentary wine reception in the theatre bar. Temporary membership for the night is only €8.
For more information log on to www.athlonefilmclub.com or email [email protected].
