On the heels of watching a historical movie Diary of a Chambermaid, I decided to watch the German film (Das weiße Band, Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte) that is based in the period just before the First World War started. The story is based in a rural community in Germany where the baron, Protestant pastor, and doctor literally rule like dictators. The victims are women and children but also poor workers who have no way to make a living if they do not work for the baron.
The story is told by the schoolteacher (played by Christian Friedel seen above with his fiancee Eva, played by Leonie Benesch) who presents a snapshot of the period that he spent in the fictitious village of Eichwald. That is why a lot of questions are left unanswered because he was so disgusted by his experience there that after the war ended, he never went back. There are several stories running in parallel: a pastor who uses harsh punishment to impose a very strict form of religion on whoever he can, particularly his own children, a baron who is so brutal that even his wife leaves him, and a doctor who abuses his own daughter and mistreats his mistress when he is bored with her. All this time, strange things are happening in the village and no one knows who the culprit is. We never find out but that is not the point of the film. Strongly recommended for people with interest in foreign films, history, and life in Europe.
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