Strong and Moving!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The Piano Teacher is a film that can be best described as, with approval of the film's director Michael Haneke, "obscene". It's "obscene" in many aspects from the pervert and masochistic sexual nature of the story to the technicals that surround the picture. Of course, the mere premise, a piano teacher, who is sexually repressed by her overbearing mother, resorting to many sexually deviant fetishes is "obscene" enough, but it goes into a much deeper level as the story progresses. The film is presented in many long takes. They are punctuated through and through by hard cuts and a soundtrack of Schubert pieces that is diegetic and miniscule. It's "obscene" through how simple and naked the technicals are compared to many Hollywood films and blockbusters. These "obscenities" will turn off viewers who are opposed to the film's content and structure. But nevertheless, The Piano Teacher is clearly a well-made film with a clear vision from Michael Haneke. The acting is great, especially the teacher and the mother and the new student as they pull her back and forth. The long takes are deep and beautiful, with excellent detail to the subtle actions of the film. And the soundtrack, while being limiting, breathes air into film whenever it appears. With the film being in French, it can be a bit tedious at points to follow along with the subtitles and the subtle imagery, but all-in-all, it should be easy to comprehend. Whether you should see The Piano Teacher or not depends upon you taste. If you don't mind, it's a good film to take in and enjoy. 7/10 (Really, it's a 7.5)

Michael Haneke has a knack for creating odd or even disturbing scenes or characters out of the most mundane situations and this is on full display in The Piano Teacher. Anchored by Issabelle Huppert, a very competent support cast who hold their own and wonderful classical music (Schubert's iconic piano number from Barry Lyndon makes a return among other melodious pieces) this film explores the dark recesses of Erika's mind, her struggle with loneliness and her unconventional desires. Erika is forty years old and lives with her domineering and controlling mother. She is an overtly strict, harsh piano teacher but behind this persona lies a vulnerable woman who is so sexually repressed that it has given rise to her odd and unconventional sexual needs. Erika's sexual desires are perhaps the weirdest I have ever seen in film, she's into BDSM, humiliation, voyeurism and even self mutilation, she's definitely a very perverse character which is brought up later on as well. Through all this, we can often lose sight of the fact that even Erika longs for and deserves happiness but she will go about it her own self destructive way. When a new far younger student Walter enters her life she tries to push him away but they eventually start a romance. Walter wants to have a traditional romantic relationship but Erika wants her needs fulfilled by a session of rape and humiliation, it's interesting that she desires the pain and humiliation when she inflicts the same on her students, her desire to be on the receiving side of these emotions makes the viewer always trying to decipher Erika, what's really going on in her head?

"The Piano Teacher" is a 1983 novel by Elfriede Jelinek, that has been adapted for the screen by Michael Haneke. I've never read the original source material, but through reading a plot summary it seems Mr. Haneke hits a majority of the themes and scenarios represented. Michael Haneke has a certain approach to characters in his movies that I've come to respect a great deal. Aside from shooting his works effortlessly, he has always depicted his characters in a way as to never manipulate the audience, but allow their actions and mannerisms remain open to interpretation for each individual. This allows for less formulaic performances, and a story like "The Piano Teacher" can benefit greatly with this approach.Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert), is a piano professor at a prestigious music conservatory. Already in her forties, she still lives in an apartment with her domineering mother (Annie Girardot), leading to much frustration between the pair. Eventually Erika meets Walter Klemmer (Benoit Magimel), a 17 year old engineering student and eventually both develop an obsession with each other. Even though she initially tries to sever contact between them, his persistence eventually leads to his discovery of her personal and quite frank voyeurism.For as challenging as the film may get, it never begins to become tedious. Granted for a 2 hour picture the story feels a little stretched, yet it's Haneke's camera work and Huppert's fantastic performance that makes this all so highly engaging and unique. The music is implemented while forged extraordinarily well, and the levels of S&M can become extremely uncomfortable towards the third act, which finally made me realised why so many reviews I've read said it became "unpleasant" viewing. Regardless, it all leads to a stunning conclusion and I highly recommend this movie. If we can live in a time where fan-fiction like "Fifty Shades of Grey" sells millions, then "The Piano Teacher" is in a league of its own and should be praised and held in a much higher regard. Final Verdict: Isabelle Huppert made the movie for me. She really transcends what could've been expected, and my predicaments towards the stories conclusion were consistently altered. 9/10.

Seeking emotional protection from our disturbed, corrupt, violent world, I tried to take refuge in Michael Haneke films; in his poetic and philosophical view and deep analysis of human complexities. I could compare his world viewpoints to Ingmar Bergman, a filmmaker which I would always enjoy being sunk in his creative world. I immensely admire Haneke 's recent film "Amour"; a film which would invite the spectators to take journey into the core of the matters and to the dark maze of human soul. It's said that through insanity, humans would sometimes find sanity, truth, love and empathy.I recently watched The White Ribbon and The Piano Teacher. My predication was that these films were somehow prophetic reflections of a new rise of totalitarian era. A suffocating new historical period!Yes, they indeed, are!I found both movies the White Ribbon and The Piano Teacher disturbing. Learning about these violent realities, the audience would need to get away from the harshness and be surrounded by the beauty of nature, serene environment, and splendor dreams. To deal with reality we need dreams! The Piano Teacher reflects the outlook of 80s, 90s and early 2000s where the notion of sexuality was dominant.