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Thursday, October 21, 2004
piano teacher
 erika is a fortyish, brilliant yet strict and harsh piano teacher at a prestigious college in vienna. and still virgin. she is as strict on herself as well as her students. at school she rarely accentuates the positives to her students. her anger takes the form of verbal abuse to her students who are unable to achieve the artistic integrity she demands. she looks blankly out the window while her students play, then belittles them for missed notes, or tell them they'll never be good enough. she doesn't want to help her students. she wants to destroy them. she competes with her students to make sure she remains the best, especially when it comes to schubert. so when one of her pupils starts to shine, she ruins her career by sticking glass in her coat pocket so the girl will slice up her hand and can't play! isabelle hubert absolutely shines in her role as a psychotic piano teacher who can't get what she wants so goes out to ruin the life of others.
erika seems to be living two lives at the same time. at work she is respected among her peers and her students. when she gets off work, however, she transforms into this horny woman. in dealing with her erotic longings, the few things that give her pleasure might seem disgusting : frequent visit to sex shops (she sniffs semen-filled tissues discarded by masturbating men from hardcore video cabins *yaiks*), voyeurism (she spies on copulating couples at movie driven-ins and she gets so turned on she urinates on their vehicle), and the worst part: sadistic genital self mutilation (she cuts her vagina with a razor).
 she hides all this from her mother, of course. she has this powerfully protective mother who is so possessive and dominating. she treats her like an untrustworthy teenager even though she's coming up on 40. she scrutinizes over erika's activities and invades her space and overall privacy. she demands erika be home every night before 10. and when she fails to call, this tyrant mother embarrasses her by calling around town looking for her, then trashing her wardrobe in form of rage. they have this kind of love/hate relationship. they fight nonstop yet weirdly at the end of the night the two of them climb into the same bed.
 and then there is walter klemmer, a young, handsome, charming, wealthy, athletic, and talented boy who finds erika interesting and applies to be her student. the sexual tension between teacher and pupil is immediately apparent. he is attracted to her and tries to find the person beneath the rudeness and blank face. unfortunately he discovers more than he wanted. in one of the weirdst, most uncomfortable sex scenes ever, he makes a move on her in a bathroom at the conservatory. she's into it, and takes control immediately. yet every time he advances she backs off. this woman is absolutely freaky. she agrees on klemmer's seduction but on HER terms. on the other day she asks him to fulfill her deviant sexual fantasies - which is sadomasochistic practises that she desires so much. she tells him she want to be tied up, slapped around and beaten, sexually humiliated -- the list goes on and on. she wants to be his love-slaves, which sickens him as well, no doubt. after he rejets her initially, she crawls into bed with her mother and jumps on top of her, trying to make out with her and who knows what else. *sicko* at first she is successful at dominating walter, but the tables are turned as she becomes dependent on him. she thinks she is in control, but it becomes very apparent to her that she isn't. we see how the once confident erika is overcomed by desperation. she visits him at an ice rink and messes around with him again, orally, and then vomits all over the floor. walter naturally begins to lose patience - and interest - in her sick little games. the final climax leaves erika a wounded, broken woman. walter gives her what she wants. he beats her until her face is bloody and then proceeds to rape her. and turns out it's not really what she wants after all.
piano teacher is based on a controversial austrian novel. it's extreme and provocative. it deals with taboo issues of secret sexual desire and mental breakdown. it is not an easy film to watch and enjoy - viewer looking for a pleasant and agreeable entertainment are urged to search elsewhere. it's not that kind of comfortable movie - it's a feel bad movie, nor a film with a message that could take us into an enlightened state. it's difficult to digest and raises plenty of questions. its disturbing images might stay with you long after the closing credits, it even leaves a sour aftertaste for days.
when the movie was shown at the cannes film festival it provoked a storm of controversy, with many juries walking out before the film had finished. nevertheless the film went on to win honours for its brilliant actrees and actor. it had been called everything from brilliant to disgusting and if u are brave enough to sit through the torturous 2 hours and 10 minutes, u too should have your very own cannes film festival award!
it is a character study movie. but after getting to know her character, u realize that u really don't want to know her innermost thoughts. as the film progresses, it becomes clear that this woman's troubles go way deeper than we may anticipate. how screwed up, complicated and dangerous a human being can get after 40 years on this planet. how the smart woman turns out to be a wild sex beast and at the end of the day, she really just wants to be tied up and humiliated. she is so lonely and isolated. every frame of this movie is scraming it: she is about to explode. she cannot adhere to a healthy loving relationship. u can feel her frustation. maybe we should put ourselves in her shoes: try to imagine sharing the same bed with your mother for 20 years, u will probably end up just as freaky as erika. the writer shows us a dark side of life - of human nature. if you can't face it, just don't see it.
cinema today needs more challenging film like this. anyone who has an appreciation for european cinema, especially fans of french or art-house cinema (like me), this is definitely your cup of tea!
*about the choice of schubert's music*
schubert's music is one of the saddest in the history of music. it's the music of the loneliest pilgrim. contrary to beethoven's music - which is so clear & straight forward, the change of moods in schubert's music is so sudden that it is often difficult to follow (not merely go from loud to soft but from a scream to a whisper - a level of intensity achieved by the 'madness' of schubert)... so are the turns & twists in this story.
a haunting & disturbing finale: erika stabbing herself in the shoulder and walking out of the concert hall's lobby. a little heavy handed ending that gives the film the sad conclusion.
one important lesson to learn: think twice before u go after a forty year old woman who shares the same bed with her mother.
stelly @ 7:54 AM
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