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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Despite the symbolism that a white piece of cloth is supposed to represent, innocence and purity are lost in The White Ribbon, a superbly crafted, mysterious German drama ripe with parental brutality, coldness, and rigid formality in an era when society was defined by a strict socioeconomic order.

Set during the months leading up to the start of World War I in 1914, The White Ribbon takes place in a small Prostestant village where a series of unsettling "accidents" threaten to upend a rural society dominated by a powerful baron, a despicable doctor, and a strict pastor. All of this is recounted years later in narrator form by the village's school teacher who admits that parts of the story are based upon his own experiences, while the rest is pieced together from hearsay and rumors.

A series of misfortunate events begins when the doctor is severely wounded in a riding accident caused by a fall over a string of piano wire tied between two trees. Then a farmer's wife dies in an accident in the baron's mill, triggering a flare up of mistrust within the village's class structure. The baron's barn is burned to the ground and his child is brutalized in the woods, as well as the handicapped son of the village midwife. A threatening note is left behind that the children are being divinely punished for their parents' sins.

Initially, The White Ribbon seems like it as no clear direction, however, patience with the plodding pace is rewarded with an ever deepening, ever dark black-and-white mystery that's shrouded in shades of gray. A talented German cast breathes life into this engrossing story that does not have a true resolution. Loose ends litter the floor, much like a season of The X-Files.

With several international film festival wins under its belt, plus a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and two Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography, The White Ribbon is a classic for the ages.  We will each walk away with a different interpretation of this film - but I believe that any film that makes you think and then debate it, is certainly one that is worth watching.

On a letter grade scale from A being excellent to F for failing, The White Ribbon receives an A-.
    
The White Ribbon is rated R and has a running time of 144 minutes.

Now showing through March 4 @
Tivoli Cinemas
Westport Manor Square, 4050 Pennsylvania, KCMO
Visit www.tivolikc.com or call 913-383-7756 for show times.
Rio Theatre
7204 W. 80th St., Overland Park, KS
For more information, call 913-383-8500 or visit www.fineartsgroup.com

By Michael D. Smith

Indie Film Editor

Michael D. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in history at College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri followed by a Master of Arts in history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Inspired by such critics as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Michael started reviewing films in 1992 for College of the Ozarks's student-run newspaper. After returning to the Kansas City area in 1994, he continued film reviewing by writing for the Cass County Democrat Missourian in Harrisonville.

In 2000 Michael joined Sun Publications in Overland Park, Kansas where he served as its film critic and Arts and Entertainment Editor. During his tenure there, he was also the film critic for the "Fine Arts Radio Hour" and "Celebrity Scoop" radio shows on KXTR. After leaving the Sun in late 2002, he became the A&E writer for the Olathe News in Olathe, Kansas. He also worked as a freelance writer for The Squire in Leawood, Showcase Publishing in Lake Ozark, Missouri and the Kansas City Star.

Michael is currently a member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, a professional film critic organization established in 1966 by the late Dr. James Loutzenhiser.