Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, The White Ribbon confirms Haneke as one of the most important and consistent filmmakers of his time. His latest masterpiece is an analysis of how a small Protestant village in northern Germany became a ‘petri dish’ for fascism during World War I. Within this microcosm a series of disturbing and distressing incidents take place, which gradually assume the character of a ritual of punishment and torture – yet the identity of the perpetrators becomes a source of mystery.