Experience Michael Haneke's "La pianiste": A Profound Psychological Drama at EYE Filmmuseum

This screening features Michael Haneke's 2001 film 'La pianiste', starring Isabelle Huppert as Erika Kohut, a repressed piano teacher whose outwardly rigid exterior masks complex desires and a turbulent inner life. The film explores themes of suppressed sexuality, voyeurism, and self-harm through a disquieting portrait of a woman struggling for control.

Michael Haneke's 'La pianiste' (The Piano Teacher), a 2001 adaptation of Elfride Jelinek's controversial novel, stars Isabelle Huppert in a highly acclaimed performance as Erika Kohut. Kohut, a forty-year-old piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory, leads a life dominated by an oppressive relationship with her mother, which complicates any possibility of external relationships. Her outwardly disciplined existence belies a hidden life involving visits to porn cinemas, peepshows, and private acts of masochism, driven by suppressed feelings of desire. The narrative intensifies when Walter, a talented young admirer from one of her piano recitals, enrolls at the conservatory with the intention of seducing her. However, he soon encounters the full complexity of Erika's perverse personality. Haneke's characteristically detached style creates a disquieting portrayal of a woman grappling with extreme emotional control and transgression. The film is notable for its unflinching examination of female sexuality and its daring exploration of themes that have since been addressed in other films with more subdued approaches. Isabelle Huppert, an accomplished pianist herself, delivers one of her career-defining performances, earning significant accolades, including the Best Actress Award at Cannes.

Persons under 16 years must be accompanied by an adult. This movie contains scenes showing explicit sex. Screening on 35mm from the Eye collection and DCP.