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The Piano Teacher
2001
Erika (Isabelle Huppert) teaches classical piano in a cold and often abrasive style. Approaching middle age, Erika lives with her doting mother (Annie Girardot) and still sleeps in the same bed with her. Erika's social life consists of occasionally sneaking away to a peep show where she secretly comes into contact with perverse .. Read more
| Starring | Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoit Magimel, Susanne Lothar |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Haneke |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
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The Piano Teacher
Erika (Isabelle Huppert) teaches classical piano in a cold and often abrasive style. Approaching middle age, Erika lives with her doting mother (Annie Girardot) and still sleeps in the same bed with her. Erika's social life consists of occasionally sneaking away to a peep show where she secretly comes into contact with perverse passion, often using the discarded trash of previous customers. Her beautiful piano playing seduces youthful Walter (Benoit Magimel), who then takes the instructor's advanced class. Walter reveals his desire during a class session. Erika reacts curiously, presenting a long list of cruel, humiliating sexual acts she would like him to perform on her. Meanwhile, the teacher also torments a talented student (Anna Sigalevitch) who is already plagued by her own fears.
Michael Haneke (CODE UNKNOWN) directed this unflinching allegorical tale of cruelty. The film caused a stir at the Cannes Film Festival where it was controversial not only for its subject matter, but also because it won multiple awards there--the Grand Prize and acting awards for both Huppert and Magimel--despite leaving many audience members outraged. Based on a novel by Elfriede Jelinek, the film features numerous classical piano sonatas banged out in an aggressive style.
| Starring | Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoit Magimel, Susanne Lothar, Cornelia Kondgen, Udo Samel, Anna Sigalevitch, Thomas Weinhappel |
|---|---|
| Director | Michael Haneke |
| Studio | ARTIFICIAL EYE |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 9 mins Watch now: 2 hrs 5 mins |
| Certificate | DVD: , Watch Online: |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | French |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 27 May 2002 Watch now: 06 Nov 2009 Production year: 2001 |
| Watch now | Subscribe and watch this as part of an unlimited package. |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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After the furore surrounding Funny Games, director Michael Haneke and controversy became synonymous and this grim, award-winning drama won't alter that perception. Isabelle Huppert plays the middle-aged tutor who lives at home with a possessive mother in spite of her morbid interest in voyeurism and pornography. No surprise then that the relationship she starts with talented but wayward student Benoît Magimel is a dark and disturbing one. Haneke's adaptation of Elfriede Jelinek's powerful novel is as much an indictment of modern Austria as a study of the female struggle to make a cultural, political or sexual impact. Yet, for all its thematic fidelity, this often overwrought melodrama falters because of the increasing implausibility of the plot and the problems the two leads have with conveying their anguish. In the end, Huppert's impassivity in the face of degradation and despair relies utterly on her impeccable acting technique, which sadly exposes Magimel's inability to put across his character's terrifying transformation.
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Haneke's adaptation of a novel by Elfriede Jelinek may be shot, edited and performed rather more conventionally than... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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28 out of 28 people found this review helpful
A truely gripping film!
La Pianiste" aka "Piano Teacher" is very strong psychological terror tale about destructed mind, feelings and the reasons behind that. "La Pianiste" doesn't explore violence like "Funny Games" did, but these are very important films and tell about real life and real people. The film is very disturbing psychological study of female who has very severely damaged mind and extremely sick sexual life and habits. Occasionally almost unbearably powerful and extremely harrowing; the final scene made me cringe. Isabelle Huppert is jaw-droppingly excellent as the main character-her performance is only comparable to Suh Yung's performance in "Seom"/"The Isle"(2000).Highly recommended-Michael Haneke is a genius! 4 stars!
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Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
[Highly rated reviewer]
Not very nice
No, I'm sorry. Dress it up any way you like, call it 'challenging' or 'uncompromising', this is still a deeply depressing tale of a seriously warped individual. Isabel Huppert is brilliant and beautiful, but her character descent into madness and humiliation is just not worth bothering with.
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News and features
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Funny Games
- 28 Mar 2008
An exercise in control, manipulation and frustration, this post-modern suspense thriller is brilliant, aggravating, and utterly redundant. Ann, George and little Georgie (Naomi Watts, Tim Roth and Devon Gearhart) drive to their summer home, a big, roomy spread with its own dock on the lake. They seem like a nice family. There is nothing to suggest they deserve the nightmare that will shortly descend on them. The first sign that something is amiss comes when they wave hello to their neighbours... Read more
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Erika (Isabelle Huppert) teaches classical piano in a cold and often abrasive style. Approaching middle age, Erika lives with her doting mother (Annie Girardot) and still sleeps in the same bed with ... -