THE WHITE TAPE

The white tape places us in the period before to the Big War, in the 10s of last century in a calm people of the interior of Germany. Without apparent cause, there begins happening a series of murders and tortures. The terror will begin gripping the inhabitants without they being capable of finding the culprit.

Directed by Michael Haneke, of German origin, the movie tries to be a subtle metaphor on the origins of the Nazism that only 20 years later would take Hitler to the government. The personages are only a representation in small scale of the relations that were established in the Germany of the beginning of the XXth century.

I believe that Haneke is right in almost all the decisions that it takes. A conmedido script, a black and white photo that it transports inevitably to the epoch, a casting more than hit and the rhythm most adapted to count a drama of these characteristics. It is clear that the director and scriptwriter has born much in mind the details of the epoch researching, at least in the visual thing, to prepare the plot.

I always try that, before explaining spoilers, there is the majority of the criticism. In this case, The white tape seems so interesting to me that I prefer to make use of the whole space that comes next to prepare a speech that between in details. This way, if you have not seen it, I recommend not to keep on reading to you and that you are covering to see it. Of course, when you have done it, remember to pass again to yourself somewhere here.

Entering detail, I love how the personages are outlined, both as for his narrative construction and from the creation together with the actor in the phase of the interpretive direction, happening for the time being of selecting the actors.

Perhaps it would be necessary to emphasize the capacity that Haneke has had to give dimensions to the personages in a movie essentially choral. He has known how to transmit that the personages are not good or bad, without falling down in simplifications maniqueas. For it it has had the intelligence to include details that adjust, for good and for evil, the design of the personages.

Cost like sample the bird of the reverend one. The fact that he accepts that his son remains with the bird it makes him win in thickness. Also, he makes use of our prejudice against him making us believe that he is going to refuse. On the other hand, we surprise his decision and it does that we discover a new way of analyzing the personage.

Also the case of the doctor is paradigmatic. After beginning the movie he suffers an accident, which already leads us to feeling certain sympathies for him. In the scene in which it reappears, he looks like to us a father worried by his children. Also it is a question of the doctor, it presents itself to the one that presupposes to him that it helps the people. And, in fact, it does it. That enters contrast with the dealing that then does of the lover in one of the rawest scenes that I remember. And, skylight, with the abuses to his daughter.

On the other hand, the personages of The white tape with less I weigh inside the history also they remain with a certain tridimensionalidad. And, especially, they are very well guided. I would like to emphasize the work of Leonie Benesch, the fiancée of the teacher. An actress who almost is his first movie (in fact, the first one with an excellent role and the second one as the IMDB) manages to transmit, on the other hand, a species of hopeful ingenuousness.

Finally, it looks like to me a big challenge (and it is not the first time that I emphasize it) to work with children. In this case, the children have a big leading role, what does that it is critical. Also, it was not a question of finding 1 or 2 children but a legion of these. And, if this was not small, 1 of them with syndrome of Down, with the added aggravating circumstance of that has scenes of an enormous dramatic load.

But if there is something that he emphasizes on the rest it is the photo. Haneke it is dedicido with big wise move to transport us with the images to the movies of the epoch. It is not necessary to forget the important contribution that the German art had in the creation of the Nazism. The less, it seems that there are references to an expression of the movement protonazi.

There escapes the romantic music and not even the painting, like expression of a certain sense of the identity. And the movies also did his contribution with the expressionism (and some futurist experiments) although, at least his most excellent representatives, ended up by having that to flee when the divided Nazi took the power.

One of the big representatives of this artistic expression that would finish with taking ideological significance is the movie of Robert Wiene The office of the Doctor Caligari of 1920. In fact, it is a question of that expressionist is considered to be the first movie. In this movie, a person is manipulated by his psychologist, fact that was interpreted as the expression of the need of the German village to be directed by a big leader.

Be or do not be a guessed right vision, I believe that The white tape is framed in this delicacy line. For it, Haneke looks for these esthetics that resembles (although modernized) that of that epoch. The target / black, with a very confirmed lighting, resembles not only the German movies, but the northerly movies that he speaks on the good and evil. Especially, the references to Dreyer are clear.

We usually, of natural form, associate the white person to the good and the black to the evil. On the other hand, there is a tradition line in the north of our continent of doing a colors countersignificance. The black turns into a color that almost protects us, to which to protect us and where to shelter of a target that dazzles us, that hurts us in the eyes, which it threatens us to every second that appears.

In this case it is even more suitable, since the Nazism associated with the blaco the purity of the Aryan race. That's why, the most terrible personages have in the target an important element of his significancia; the duke, the doctor, the reverend one (when the situation was allowing it, obviously) and, skylight, this white tape that represents the emotional castration (in some almost literal moment when there prevents the masturbations of the child) causer of the future revolution that would finish in the Second World War.

He would add that there are 2 scenes of The white tape where the target exceeds us, it threatens us. In the first one it is a covered with snow scenery. It takes place after one of the terrible facts (now I do not remember which). Other, when there is narrated the murder of archduke Francisco Fernando of Austria that would unleash the Big War.

They are constant, to reinforce this deja vu sensation the panoramas (that prevail on the travellings), the planes sequence, the countercut lightings and the frontal planes that they can go so far as to remember, it adding to the use of the dialectics target / black, to the mythical one The passion of Juana de Arco or The word, the two of Dreyer. And, in fact, to the whole audio-visual tradition.

The script is other of the elements that they emphasize. I believe that the dialogues are acertadísimos. They contribute a cadenza that fits to the perfection with the rhythm of the assembly. Also, they help the actors to do very much his work.

On the other hand, there is very well construído the coloring that contributes the personages' scale. I believe that Michael Haneke has been able to find the suitable number of personages so that the whole social stratification that the movie tries to reflect they are present. Especially those persons who had so much importance in the hierarchy of a people; the duke, the priest, the teacher and the doctor, in addition to a big scale of popular personages.

Finally, and in harmony with the delicacy about which I have been speaking, the script leaks the repression and the fear of God (there would fit for another post the relation that establishes the movie between faith / god / fear, much in tuning with the movies about which we have been speaking). Also with delicacy, cautiously and carefully of not falling down in an excessively flat speech. But yes doing a fierce environment, which scratches you to every bad step that you give.

Finally, I believe that it is one of the most finished movies that I have had the opportunity to see in my last visits to the movies room. Of course, I wait for your opinions about the movie.