7/26-7/29

Michael Haneke's THE WHITE RIBBON //

This is Haneke's tenth feature, and for my money there isn't really a dud in that run (say what you will about the two divisive FUNNY GAMES films; I liked them). There's really no phase in the two decades leading up to this film that you can point to as an evident slump in his career. So it shouldn't surprise us to find that this "late period" film is made with great confidence and authority. It's stunningly shot, masterfully paced, and Haneke coaxes terrific performances from the cast (made up entirely of actors unknown to me). With that said, there are a few weaknesses here: the film is often praised as a meditation on the origins of fascist evil, but Haneke has never been an especially nuanced or sophisticated moralist. For my money, his films are best when they're nearly nihilist: when there's no great motive force explaining the evil on display, no special meaning to it (and no real privileged status to its ineffective counterforce, goodness). This works tremendously in Haneke's earlier, edgier films, but here he seems to be groping at something more mature and sophisticated (including the inclusion of a few characters who are genuinely kind!), so when the overall milieu reveals its pointless, inexplicable cruelties, it feels a bit like Haneke is retreading familiar ground which he might be better off moving beyond. (For what it's worth, I think Haneke's next film, AMOUR (2012), manages the balancing act between kindness and cruelty more effectively, and it's for this reason that AMOUR should be thought of as the true capstone of his career.)

Jessica Beshir's FAYA DAYI //

Payal Kapadia's ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT //

Wim Wenders' PERFECT DAYS //

Unexpected gem from late-career Wim Wenders.