Piano Teacher, The (2001, Michael Haneke)

I am in no way an authority when it comes to the films of auteur Austrian director Michael Haneke as far as what they are suppose to mean, exactly, which is what precisely draws me to his each of his various works. In fact, that is the reasoning behind my admiration for oblique art-house cinema. The 1997 psychological trepidation known as "Funny Games" was my first exposure to Haneke's unique style of lingering suspense and characters tangled in formidable sexuality. "The Piano Teacher" is a bit different - shifting gears from German to French speaking actors and, instead of a torturous home invasion, the film details a deeply bizarre love affair...

"The Piano Teacher" is yet another prime example of the film maker's subdued approach to extreme mental instability - centering around a dentist... nah, it's actually a piano teacher of all people. She lives with her elderly, domineering mother and has a very similarly imperious attitude toward her students. Her means of "unwinding" is quite peculiar - such as hanging out in porno booths and sniffing the jizzy tissues from the waste basket... Clearly, she is a 40-something year old virgin whose uterus has shriveled up and died, leaving her a sexually unfulfilled shell with a definate screw loose. When a young male student takes a romantic interest in her, all of her pent up sexual quirks come to light, resulting in inevitable tragedy...

The performances are all completely solid, the pacing is good (though probably not rapid enough for all tastes), and the story spirals unexpectedly into a "climax" involving a truly sordid liaison, incest and sexual violence that makes for one of the most interesting female pervs I have seen on celluloid since Ilsa, probably. The final scene is very odd, yet it's a nicely poignant (though abrupt) wrap-up... Michael Haneke is not a man whose known for his upbeat endings. When all is said and done, your not going to know which character to feel sympathy towards, if anyone. Maybe everyone.

If you haven't experienced "The Piano Teacher" than you're in for a treat!