DVD review: The White Ribbon

Michael Haneke's film is restrained and beautifully shot in black and white. Bad things happen, but we rarely see them. The Palme d'Or winner drops us in the middle of a German village on the eve of the first world war. It feels orderly and safe, ruled by its stern authority figures. But after the doctor's horse falls victim to a tripwire, life changes, mutual ­suspicions take root, and Haneke largely leaves us to figure out the true story and its allegorical aspects for Germany's future. At times, its austerity is reminiscent of Ingmar Bergman; and there is a hint too of Village of the Damned. But as usual the Austrian auteur, best known for Funny Games and Hidden, has given us a memorable dark work to mull over.