omfgitsrohit — 12 years ago(April 15, 2013 08:12 AM)

The characters in The Piano Teacher (2001) develop so much, so quickly and totally unexpectedly but the whole process is convincing, feels genuine and gut-wrenchingly real. F#cking excellent, thought-provoking film! One of the best character studies I've seen in a long while. Few film-makers have such perceptivity and this film viewing alone is enough for me to put Haneke on par with humanists like David Schwimmer, Thomas McCarthy, Andrei Tarkovsky and even Alan Ball. The film reminded me of Michael (2011) directed by Markus Schleinzer, who apparently served on Haneke's films as a casting director. While I was very impressed with his treatment only now do I see who he's learnt from. Both performances were GREAT. Incredible writing, very subtle characterization. Simple, natural film-making. Everything just falls organically into place. Doesn't feel nearly as consciously crafted as Funny Games. 10/10.
A film like this could've easily come off as sexploitation and having made Funny Games, he could've been accused of doing the same thing he addresses in the film. But he directs it with empathy and understanding but holds back feeling so that our minds can process these characters and understand why they are the way they are.
http://premiercritic.blogspot.in