The Piano Teacher Movie Review 2001

Middle-aged Erika (Huppert) teaches piano at the Vienna Conservatory where she is demanding--if not cruel--to her students. Erika lives with her controlling mother (Girardot) and spends her off hours mutiliating herself, watching porn, and engaging in other bizarre behavior. Which doesn't improve when she agrees to a questionable sexual relationship (on her masochistic terms) with hot new student Walter (Magimel). Not for the faint-hearted; adapted from the 1983 novel by Effriede Jelinek. French with subtitles.

Distribution

Kino International, 333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503, New York, NY 10018, Phone: (212)629-6880, Toll-free: 800-562-3330, Fax: (212)714-0871, Email: contact@kino.com, URL: http://www.kino.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 130 minutes.
Originally from French, Austrian.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Sexcapades, Dedicated Teachers, Jealousy, Sanity Check

Screenplay

Michael Haneke

Cast

Isabelle Huppert, Benoit Magimel, Annie Girardot, Udo Samel, Susanne Lothar, Anna Sigalenteh

Cinematography

Christian Berger

Director

Michael Haneke

Other

Jean-Pierre Laforce, Guillaume Sciama, Monika Willi, Nadine Muse, Annette Beaufays, Christoph Kanter

Producer

Alain Sarde, Marin Karmitz, Veit Heiduschka, MK2, Wega-Film, Kino International

Awards

Cannes 2001: Actor (Magimel), Actress (Huppert), Grand Jury Prize.