The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001)
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 81
Fresh: 59 | Rotten: 22
Though it makes for rather unpleasant viewing, The Piano Teacher is a riveting and powerful psychosexual drama.
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Critic Reviews: 27
Fresh: 23 | Rotten: 4
Though it makes for rather unpleasant viewing, The Piano Teacher is a riveting and powerful psychosexual drama.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 19,002
Movie Info
How far is a man willing to go to be with the woman he wants? Erika (Isabelle Huppert) is a veteran piano instructor at a famous music conservatory in Vienna. Erika is highly respected for her remarkable talent and strong discipline, but she's also known to be a harsh taskmistress and does not suffer fools gladly; among her students, Erika's class is considered a highly rewarding challenge, but difficult to weather. Erika seems to get her stern and unforgiving nature from her mother (Annie
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Cast
-
Isabelle Huppert
Erica Kohut -
Annie Girardot
The Mother -
Benoît Magimel
Walter Klemmer -
Susanne Lothar
Mrs. Schober -
Udo Samel
Dr. Blonskij
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All Critics (97) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (22) | DVD (7)
This is a penetrating, deeply disturbing examination of desire and loneliness, of desperation and self-denial.
Top CriticIt is depressing, ruthlessly pained and depraved, the movie equivalent of staring into an open wound.
A gripping psychological thriller that, while lacking the power of Funny Games, is still the work of a master.
It is as unlikely that you have ever seen another movie like The Piano Teacher as it is that you will ever want to see another one.
A striking, brilliant film with extraordinary performances -- and Huppert's acting is heartrending.
Is like The Graduate remade by David Lynch; it's no picnic to watch, but you can't look away.
[Huppert gives] the single finest performance I have ever seen her give, and therefore almost by default one of the best of the decade.
A film of Artaudian cruelty, and a boundary-breaker in the cinema's exploration of its own erotic and artisanal id.
A revolting and shocking work devoid of redemption and purpose.
If genital mutilation, rape, incest and twisted acts of sexual gratification are your thing, then this is the film for you. Any takers?
It's a harrowing, difficult film that's only for the most adventurous art-house movie fans.
[Isabelle Huppert] outdoes herself.
Will leave audiences cold and not a little depressed.
An unflinching view into sexual sadism, starkly contrasted against a background of Rachmaninov, Schubert and Bach.
Haneke keeps us at arm's length. Guided more by intellect than heart, his story flattens instead of sharpens.
The Piano Teacher is the sort of movie that discourages American audiences from ever wanting to see another foreign film.
Huppert gives Erika a persona that is so intriguing that you find yourself staring hypnotically at her, trying to understand her and wondering if she'll crack.
Disturbing yet provocative.
To get at the root psychology of this film would require many sessions on the couch of Dr. Freud.
The Piano Teacher does not have a sentimental bone in its body, and is smugly difficult for this reason.
A frustrating exercise in the hormonal detours of human nature.
Audience Reviews for The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste)
Isabelle Huppert plays Erica with a reserved but volcanic sexuality that comes through in all her moments of compelling silence. Her performance is nuanced and courageous, especially when Erica's more vulnerable side is revealed. Hers is a character who begins being interesting when she fights with her mother, gets uninteresting when we realize how boring her day-to-day life is, and remains interesting for the rest of the film after she cuts her own vagina with a razor blade and spends her free time in a porn shop watching the quarter peep show films.
I was once in a creative writing workshop, and someone asked me why my character was the way he was. I didn't know how to answer. "Because that's just the way he is," I wanted to reply. But after watching The Piano Teacher, I understand the question better because it's the one flaw in the film. Why is Erica the way she is? What causes her disconnect from people? Her mother can't be blamed for everything, can she? This is where subtle backstory about her past relationships and her early development would've been enlightening.
Overall, I liked The Piano Teacher, especially Huppert's performance, but I still think there's something important missing in the character's construction.
Super Reviewer
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Movie: ID: 17892 Title: The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) Release Date: 2001-09-01 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Die Klavierspielerin (DE)
- The Piano Teacher (UK)
Art-house erotica done... again.