The Piano Teacher
Should we celebrate? A few months ago, US audiences finally got a chance to see Michael Haneke’s oeuvre, when his fifth film, Code Unknown (Code Inconnu), made it to these shores, though with nary a splash. Now his latest, La Pianiste ("The Piano Teacher") is here, too, riding on its last year success at Cannes. Haneke is a Eurodirector with impeccable credentials – of German origin, residing in Austria, using French casts. He loves talking about the lies of mainstream cinema and about what art owes life in a bemused postmodernist tone devoid of ‘60s stridency. Enough to make you drop everything and drive off to the local art theater? Wait.