Did you people see the same film I saw?

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

This film tells the story of a female piano teacher who has perverse fantasies towards her young student.The piano teacher seems like an ordinary woman, until her dark side is introduced. It is provocative and at times even disturbing. The scene in the video club is quite a shock to me. Then, the story builds on and goes even further. Yet, the ending is a great surprise. It is a provocative, disturbing and engaging film.

"The Piano Teacher" is a 1983 novel by Elfriede Jelinek, that has been adapted for the screen by Michael Haneke. I've never read the original source material, but through reading a plot summary it seems Mr. Haneke hits a majority of the themes and scenarios represented. Michael Haneke has a certain approach to characters in his movies that I've come to respect a great deal. Aside from shooting his works effortlessly, he has always depicted his characters in a way as to never manipulate the audience, but allow their actions and mannerisms remain open to interpretation for each individual. This allows for less formulaic performances, and a story like "The Piano Teacher" can benefit greatly with this approach.Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert), is a piano professor at a prestigious music conservatory. Already in her forties, she still lives in an apartment with her domineering mother (Annie Girardot), leading to much frustration between the pair. Eventually Erika meets Walter Klemmer (Benoit Magimel), a 17 year old engineering student and eventually both develop an obsession with each other. Even though she initially tries to sever contact between them, his persistence eventually leads to his discovery of her personal and quite frank voyeurism.For as challenging as the film may get, it never begins to become tedious. Granted for a 2 hour picture the story feels a little stretched, yet it's Haneke's camera work and Huppert's fantastic performance that makes this all so highly engaging and unique. The music is implemented while forged extraordinarily well, and the levels of S&M can become extremely uncomfortable towards the third act, which finally made me realised why so many reviews I've read said it became "unpleasant" viewing. Regardless, it all leads to a stunning conclusion and I highly recommend this movie. If we can live in a time where fan-fiction like "Fifty Shades of Grey" sells millions, then "The Piano Teacher" is in a league of its own and should be praised and held in a much higher regard. Final Verdict: Isabelle Huppert made the movie for me. She really transcends what could've been expected, and my predicaments towards the stories conclusion were consistently altered. 9/10.

Being a piano teacher in a school isn't necessarily the most compelling job. Erika(Huppert, disappearing into the role) lives with her overbearing mother(Girardot, fleshing out what in the hands of a lesser talent would have been one-sided), who keeps close tabs on her. Both of them are single, lonely, missing the father, and feeling they've achieved what they could in their lives. She always retains control even when not the only authority(even in that situation, she doesn't "give" any), keeps her distance, doesn't smile, and claims to have no emotion. Her love of the music, that we are at times given rich explanations of, fits with her personality, and vice versa - clear rules for what is right and what is wrong, intelligent and reserved, refusing to cater to the masses. But she does have violent fantasies, and when she meets the young enthusiast of the classics Walter(Magimel, fantastic, holding his own against a woman 20 years his senior), she may be able to live them out - even if doing so poses great risks to herself.This is gripping from start to finish. It is not for everyone, and I mean no offense to those who aren't in the intended audience. There are a lot of long takes with few people in the shot, a lot of silence, few cuts or close-ups, little in the way of movement of the camera, and largely basic angles and compositions. It's driven by the acting and dialog(with many mean, even cruel, lines, to an extent equally divided between the leads - there is no room for failure in the perfectionist world of performing arts that require that much talent, nor is there a way to impress, at most, be thought to be "good enough"). There are no real plot twists, merely a spiral towards the inevitable awful outcome. This sets up some themes and characters, and explores them, thoroughly. Our protagonist has no make-up, and this is an example of this not holding back, not covering up imperfections, it is bare and harsh, and all the better for it. This is only the second film of Michael Haneke I've watched, the other being The White Ribbon, but I love both of them, and will be seek out more of his work.This goes into selfishness vs. sacrifice, disgust vs. understanding, complete acceptance vs. unrepentant rejection, what is proper and what is not. Add to that the way the world of yesterday's "sensual" (in direct contact with, not theory but talent for playing, composing) love of art being shoved aside by, and for the sake of, modern intellectualism(study of theory) and crowd-pleasers such as sports. Most of all, it is about sado-masochism. This goes into that subject without misrepresenting(unlike 50 Shades of Grey) and free of judgment. It is, however, deeply unsettling, showing the negatives that can come from it, whilst clearly showing that they aren't inherent to it. When it isn't practiced in a healthy relationship based on trust, where the partners use safe-words, consent and aftercare. Because when someone has suppressed something for the longest time, it can be an explosion when the faucet is finally turned on. We see how the greatest perversity may be borne of the strongest repressive environment, and that just because one's sexuality has not been expressed, doesn't mean it's gone.This contains a near-constant tension, mostly regarding disturbing content, a lot of sexuality, some of it graphic and/or violent. It is a movie that is sometimes arousing, other times revolting, one that dares you to look on yet is impossible to take your eyes off. I recommend this to everyone who is not put off by the subject nor the unflinching approach to it. 8/10

This movie is an evil vortex sucking everything positive out of life as we know it. It leaves you feeling offended, disturbed and utterly disappointed. I was appalled at how many awards it has actually won. It directly indicates that critics and the public accept and applaud child abuse, sadomasochism, incest, the bludgeoning of women and then raping them, jealousy turning into assault, pornography, slavery & elitism. The slogan of this movie should be: "Love = Rape". The marketing department fell off the bus when they took the motto "Sex Sells" and turned it into "Rape Sells". Don't allow this movie to severely distort your view of what love should be between a man and a woman. How can one trust critics and their ratings on any other movie if filth like this is praised so much!? Real life is already teeming with so much evil, stealing our joy. Upon watching this drivel you are giving evil permission to once again, pilfer what little joy you have left, and slapping you in the face with it. Why would anyone in their right mind want to waste more than 2 hours of their time just to feel bereft of any positivity?