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    At the Arthouse

    Slow hite Ribbon lingers in the mind

    David Theis
    Feb 21, 2010 | 11:28 am

    Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke has set himself a tall order with The White Ribbon. His film attempts to do nothing less than explain the origins of fascism.

    The austerely beautiful, black-and-white film is set in a Protestant northern Germany village in the months preceding World War I. Everything looks normal at first. The pre-war social order is firmly in place, with the Baron at the head of local social pyramid, the doctor and Lutheran minister below him, a teacher below them, and a bunch of impoverished farmers at the pyramid’s wide bottom.

    Still, we learn right away that something is amiss in the unnamed village. The story is being told by an old citizen (Christian Freidel) who was the teacher there. Years later, after all the wars, the former teacher (few of the adults are named) is still puzzling over a series of unsolved crimes that were committed back then. The film begins with the town doctor (Rainer Bock) being injured in a fall from his horse. The fall was caused by a wire hung apparently intentionally across his riding path. Shortly thereafter, a woman dies in what may or may not be a work accident. The Baron’s son is kidnapped and tortured.

    This incident enrages the Baron, upon whose good will the village absolutely depends, and he warns the townspeople not to protect the dangerous criminal they apparently harbor in their midst.

    But, despite this being a nosy and gossipy village, no one seems to know who’s committing the crimes, so, Kafka-like, suspicion falls on everyone. Haneke gradually moves his camera inside the villagers’ homes. There we find a good deal of bad behavior by the adults, but it’s the kind of nastiness that was accepted as normal in the rigid, sexually repressive, male-dominated society of the day. The minister ties his son’s arms to his bed so the son won’t be tempted to masturbate under his covers. The doctor probably would’ve been considered a monster even then—he sexually abuses his own daughter and verbally abuses his mistress (his wife is dead) in terms that are quite chilling. The Baron exploits the peasants.

    And so on. Only the teacher and his young fiancée (a mercifully charming Leonie Benesch) are people you wouldn’t cross the street to avoid meeting.

    Haneke has cunningly laid out his indictment. While villagers and audience alike are wondering who tortured a young Down’s syndrome boy to the point of nearly blinding him, a close but almost incidental look at the adults’ (or the men’s, to be more precise) behavior shows the audience, with almost clinical precision, that a sickness of the soul was abroad in the land.
    If you’re of the Guns of August school of history, and think that if the European leaders had just made better decisions in the buildup to WWI, the whole debacle (and Hitler himself) could’ve been avoided, Haneke disagrees. He argues here that fascism was deeply planted in the culture, just waiting to emerge.
    It appears (though it’s never made crystal clear) that it’s the children of the village who are committing the crimes. And this same generation of children grew up to be Nazis. But it’s not just that the kids were bad seeds. According to Haneke, their parents planted them in barren, much abused soil.
    Haneke makes a strong case. We know, for example, that Hitler’s father was much like the fathers here. Of course this doesn’t excuse Hitler for his crimes, but the film does offer a context and a partial explanation.
    Despite its interesting ideas, however, The White Ribbon isn’t always gripping. Haneke’s evidence-gathering pace will be too slow for many. And he doesn’t offer any sort of resolution. But the lack of answers may be why the film lingers in the mind, becoming more interesting once you’ve left the theater and started

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    puff, puff, pass

    Comedy legends Cheech and Chong will light up Comicpalooza 2025

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 20, 2025 | 3:30 pm
    Cheech & Chong
    Cheech & Chong/Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/cheechandchong]
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    The guest list for this year’s Comicpalooza keeps on getting bigger and bigger. It’s already been announced that Hayden Christensen – Anakin Skywalker himself – will be attending the upcoming festivities next month. Add stoner comedy royalty to the roster.

    Comedy legends Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong will come to Space City and reminisce about their five-decade career. They will talk about everything, from their big-screen run in the ‘70s and ‘80s to their line of gummies that keep getting advertised on X.

    Christensen won’t be the only Star Wars alum in attendance. Temuera Morrison will be around to talk about his path through the Star Wars galaxy, from portraying Jango Fett and his numerous clones in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith to his role in The Mandalorian as Boba Fett and its spinoff, The Book of Boba Fett. Ming-Na Wen rounds out the group of stars from the Star Wars universe. She currently portrays the mercenary assassin Fennec Shand in The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.

    For all those fans of the John Hughes teen comedies of the ‘80s, Brat Pack icon Anthony Michael Hall will be talking about his days making Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club, as well as his upcoming turn in the new season of Wednesday.

    And let’s not forget about the voice actors. Scheduled to appear are James Cheek, best known for voicing San Lang/Hua Cheng in Heaven Official’s Blessing; Keith Silverstein, celebrated for his work as Hisoka in Hunter × Hunter and Kimimaro in the Naruto franchise; Spike Spencer, who has voiced hundreds of anime episodes across beloved franchises; and Daisuke Tsuji, most notably known for voicing Jin Saki in the hit game Ghost of Tsushima.

    Finally, for all the music nerds, award-winning composer Grant Kirkhope will talk about some of the most recognizable video game soundtracks (GoldenEye 007, Donkey Kong) he’s done.

    Comicpalooza returns to the George R. Brown Convention Center Friday, June 20 through Sunday, June 22. For more information, go to the Comicpalooza website.

    comicpaloozacelebritiescheech and chong
    news/entertainment

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