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THE WHITE RIBBONMovie Reviews
German language drama about the escalating misfortunes that befall the citizens of a pre-WW I German village. Cast:Leonie Benesch, Josef Bierbichler, Rainer Bock, Christian Friedel, Burghart KlaußnerDirector:Michael HanekeRelease Date:December 30, 2009DVD Release:June 29, 2010From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:2 hr 24 min
JUNE 29, 2010
The White Ribbon, Very Good Reviews, Mixed Key Cities
The White Ribbon played in key cities to very good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "...a severe and eerily beautiful German-language drama... be assured that Mr. Haneke's film is accessible..." • And Kyle Smith wrote in the New York Post, "...one of the finest films that ever repelled me... both simple and complicated, sweeping and narrow." More Reviews Below...
The White Ribbon Positive Reviews (34 Reviews, reviews below)
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "...took the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but it's a misanthropic oddball... treats a dozen characters so coldly they could be rats in a maze.... Shot in vivid black and white."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 100 words, 01/01/10
David Germain, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a masterpiece, but a demanding one.... a meticulously composed production... an eminently worthwhile journey if you're up for the challenge..."(See all of David Germain's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 531 words, 12/31/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The glacially paced film has moments of luminous beauty.... But its austere gloom feels oppressive and monotonous, undercutting its psychological impact."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 497 words, 01/08/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "We're on a guilt trip down memory lane.... we arrive in a familiar place, to be lectured and scolded by a filmmaker whose rich craft disguises the poverty of his ideas."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,286 words, 12/30/09
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Haneke's superb cast provide beautifully measured hints at the disconnect between the ribbon's symbolism and the entire town's unspoken atrocities."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 398 words, 12/30/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Haneke's vision -- tense, provocative and unnerving -- is on full display in 'The White Ribbon'... could be considered a culmination of this difficult director's brilliant career."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 969 words, 12/30/09
Kyle Smith, New York Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...one of the finest films that ever repelled me... both simple and complicated, sweeping and narrow.... so steeped in the awful that the proper response is a shudder."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 357 words, 12/30/09
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: WEAK "...presents human cruelty not to make us empathize with the victims or understand the oppressors but to rub our noses in the crimes of our species... all I smell is skunk."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 12/28/09
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: VERY GOOD(cg) "...profoundly disturbing, impeccably shot, superbly cast, allegorically ambitious and, yet, slightly disappointing..."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 918 words, 01/15/10
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Detailed yet oblique, leisurely but compelling... has a seductively novelistic texture complete with a less-than-omniscient narrator hinting at a weighty historical thesis..."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 913 words, 12/30/09
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: WEAK(cg) "Haneke ('Funny Games,' 'Cache') has made a specialty of trying to sell essentially shallow, unexceptional ideas with shocking or heavily aestheticized imagery."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 277 words, 02/12/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Haneke's success in maintaining tension is especially impressive in that he does it despite a loose narrative and the necessity of juggling a dozen characters."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 598 words, 02/19/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...oozes with contempt. Contempt for the filmmaker's subjects in their not-so-sleepy little town, but contempt for his audience, too."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 492 words, 01/22/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...the lack of closure is thrilling.... Haneke writes and directs with ominous majesty.... If Ingmar Bergman ever had nightmares, they must have been like this."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,002 words, 01/15/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This filmmaker is a master at a sort of catlike suspense: lulling the audience into bemused calmness, like an animal playing with its prey, before sinking a tooth into a neck."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 536 words, 01/29/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...masterful... The look alone of 'The White Ribbon' will blow you away.... Haneke has said he wanted to explore the 'psychological preconditions' of fascism."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 439 words, 02/26/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "Haneke is an indisputable master.... 'The White Ribbon' is, in some ways, absolutely prime Haneke and in others a departure."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 653 words, 02/26/10
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a stark, contemplative and hauntingly brilliant film.... everything that an art film should be -- challenging in its ideas and consummate in its artistry."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 02/26/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT(cg) "Haneke makes movies as riddles... never boring; the performances and Christian Berger's Oscar-nominated black and white cinematography ensure that."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 363 words, 02/16/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: VERY GOOD(cg) "...quietly gripping if painfully overlong parable... the metaphors are unmistakable, as is the power of the film's message."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 02/19/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...an artsy bore.... Haneke has dramatized his intellectual conceits in an uninvolving, snail-paced movie that illustrates its themes in an obvious, almost banal manner."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 582 words, 02/12/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
J. Hoberman, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "Detailed yet oblique, leisurely but compelling... has a seductively novelistic texture complete with a less-than-omniscient narrator hinting at a weighty historical thesis..."(See all of J. Hoberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 913 words, 12/30/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This haunting film never pushes itself on you. It trusts you to suss out the horror that lies beneath the veneer of innocence. You'll be knocked for a loop."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 140 words, 01/08/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...designed to provoke and infuriate... offering no easy answers.... perhaps Haneke is once again taking a shot at his favorite target -- those watching the film."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 579 words, 01/14/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: POOR "...a murky storyline... even if every scene were presented clear as day, it's likely you wouldn't always know what's going on, anyway -- and eventually won't care."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 02/11/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "We're on a guilt trip down memory lane.... we arrive in a familiar place, to be lectured and scolded by a filmmaker whose rich craft disguises the poverty of his ideas."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,286 words, 12/30/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Haneke's vision -- tense, provocative and unnerving -- is on full display in 'The White Ribbon'... could be considered a culmination of this difficult director's brilliant career."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 969 words, 12/30/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...entirely absorbing through its longish running time... nonetheless proves a difficult film to entirely embrace.... feels like a thematic companion piece to 'Lord of the Flies.' "(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 912 words, 12/20/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "Haneke's vision -- tense, provocative and unnerving -- is on full display in 'The White Ribbon'... could be considered a culmination of this difficult director's brilliant career."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 969 words, 12/30/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: FAIR "We're on a guilt trip down memory lane.... we arrive in a familiar place, to be lectured and scolded by a filmmaker whose rich craft disguises the poverty of his ideas."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,286 words, 12/30/09
24.0 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The White Ribbon's reviews are separated by an average 24.0 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The White Ribbon (34 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The White Ribbon's reviews cover 58.9% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,693 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 550 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The White Ribbon Coverage, Volume & Length (34 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 4 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The White Ribbon's reviews on average broke 4 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The White Ribbon's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The White Ribbon (34 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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