-Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN TIMES
"Once one expereinces Mr. Haneke's own sadistic tendencies toward his audience, one is left with a sour taste in one's mouth, and little else."
-Andrew Sarris, NEW YORK OBSERVER
"Retraint is this movie's mystery and its miracle. No matter how gruesom it is, mercifully, it's always holding back."
-Wesley Morris, BOSTON GLOBE
Suggested Secondary Screenings: BELLE DU JOUR (Luis Bunuel, 1967) and THE NIGHT PORTER (Liliana Cavani, 1974)
The Piano Teacher
ReplyDeleteThis film freaked me out, because of the main character. She was seriously disturbed. I mean the whole thing with the cutting in the beginning to the porn and obviously the sexual fantasies, but I think that all of these things were due to her up bringing. I mean first off she still lived with her mother and about the age of 35 to 40, but it was not really clear if she lived with her mother or her mother lived with her but it was still very strange.
I really think that is why she has such a twisted sense of sexual desire. I mean first with the cutting I feel like that is all because of the fact that she is ashamed to have sexual desire so she cuts her vagina so that way she cannot act on anything. If she were to act on it and have sex it would be very painful, so she would be punished. Also I think her porn watching comes from the fact that she is never getting any so she needs some sort of sexual release, and the fact that she watches these porn movies makes her think that this is really the way all sex is so she comes up with these wild fantasies of gagging and hitting when most sex is not really like that. I had to take a seminar on sex for school and the woman was talking about how the porn industry has ruined normal sex, because guys and women alike have been watching these complete embellishments and thinking that this is really the way that sex should be, but really they are taking away from what it should be. This movie made me think of this because I really think that this is normal. I mean obviously not completely normal because she has her partner read it in a note, but I think she is shocked by his reaction and how he becomes physically sick from some of the ideas that she is presenting.
Also this movie really reminded me of “Black Swan” and I was kind of disappointed in Arronofsky, because I thought there were too many similarities between the films. I mean it was a teacher rather then a student, and the mother was not sexual towards the daughter in “The Piano Teacher” it was more of the daughter being into the mother, which is much more disturbing by the way, but it was still the same premise that she was a jealous woman who still wanted to be the star, and she was disturbingly close to her mother and she was trying to break free but ending up stabbing herself as does Natalie Portman, but I think that there are enough differences to look at each film separately and grant it merit.
I really like the way that this film ended, because there can be so many interpretations like the one mentioned in class that she does this every couple of months and just runs over to the hospital and gets fixed up, but I think that this self mutilation is similar to that of “Black Swan” and I feel that the piano teacher does end up dying.
What impressed me the most with Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher” is the performance of an actress I’d never heard of beforehand: Isabelle Huppert. Whenever I recall this film, I see Huppert’s flat, expressionless face that. On paper, that sounds like a bad thing. In motion, however, Huppert gives depth to the character through her dark, inscrutable stare. What exactly is going on within this irascible piano teacher is a mystery, even after she divulges her sexual fantasies with one of her students. The few times her character’s Teflon coating comes undone becomes believable only because of Huppert’s immersion in the role, and not in any way over or underplaying those parts. I hope to watch several more of her films in the future.
ReplyDeleteP.S.- When the class lecture turned into a “Black Swan” spoiler free-for-all, I had to do everything in my power to block it out. I haven’t seen the film yet, and am curious how it relates to the film; in turn, I will probably recommend fans of the film to check out “The Piano Teacher” if the similarities are as close as some students seemed suggest.
As troubled as Huppert's character is in this film, I almost felt a little sorry for her. Yes, there is intensity in her performance that makes you believe that she's somehow in full control of this "venture" into sexual exploration...but sometimes I don't buy it. While I can definitely see this as a cyclical practice of the character - that is, every 2 years or so she starts it up all over again - I can also see that this was the result of much repression and confusion that in the end, backfired (or did it?) on her.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a Haneke film that's the least Haneke-like film. His hand-print is definitely there but I didn't feel the severe distancing effect that Funny Games or Cache had. Maybe the subject matter is something that I didn't expect from Haneke.I must say that that bathroom 'sex' scene is one of the strangest sexual encounters I've ever seen on screen. It's so cold and un-sexy. I thought the relationship with the mother is certainly interesting if not disturbing. That bedroom scene really put me off by the way.
Overall, I actually liked The Piano Teacher, as unexpected as it felt. And Huppert is just fantastic; a little creepy though, to be totally honest.
I enjoyed this film and would definitely watch it again. I think the Piano teachers character was great and very interesting. The film is so Heneke, somtimes it bores you to bits but still manages to suck you into the content. The form is very dull and boring however for me it was the content that kept me interested. I am a fan of Haneke and he is definitely one of my favorite french directors. I enjoyed the male piano player's character, I thought he acted very well. I agree with Sarah as it reminded me of Black Swan as well.
ReplyDeleteI liked the ending however I feel like she did end up dying but I mean that is just my opinion, maybe Black Swan influenced this opinion.
I really liked this film. It was so subtly violent and had an incredible undertone!. Not only was it beautifully shot but the story was very capturing. Obviously Huppert's performance was amazing and I personally think she was perfect for the role. Unfortunately for her though, I'm sure she gets type casted as 'the creeper' (i.e I <3 Huckabees).
ReplyDeleteShe has this amazing look that definitely cannot be denied though. There's something special about her glance that just pumped this film exactly where it needed to be. She was the perfect repressed-momma's-girl with an forbidden unfulfilled desire that ultimately lead to her death.
I'm not sure if she actually died though. I think I'd rather think that she's been through this before and that this is definitely not the first, or the last for that matter, that she'll get rejected and humiliated by a man.