the piano teacher (2001). directed by micheal haneke.

perhaps the black swan will win tonight. it will be shown on tv at 2am, sudan time, which is 7am malaysia time. i am not staying up for that. i have a review with my seniors, yawn really, but necessary for me to attend. so i need my beauty sleep.

in a way these two movies are similar - a tale of sacrifice for art and how far does one willing to enslave oneself for it, that it changes you into someone else. the demands art makes on them physically and emotionally is combustible - it is a world rife with competition, jealousy and intrigues. no one is ever good enough. and everyone is always on the verge of a mental breakdown. perhaps we've never seen a real life example - but what kind of an environment could have produced such destructive forces in otherwise creative individuals?

the protagonist in the piano teacher is a music teacher who teaches schumann and schubert and is very strict in her methods, punishing students to spare them from feeling "not good enough". she is unfriendly, as if she had been wronged in the past. her mother is a creature of constant criticism, as if demanding her to achieve an ideal that is not human. despite the facade of propriety,  she visits sex shops and watches couples having sex to get sexual pleasure. the neat division in her life crumbles with the arrival of a male student who openly flirts with her, as if challenging her authority. the relationship tilts the power balance she holds dearly all this while - the virgin vs. the human needs - as if not sure how to react - she fights the demons of sexual fantasy and reality with equal fierceness. this is a person who has no outlet, but under constant pressure to be perfect - professionally and personally. she is bound to crack, someday, some way. the story ends with her sticking a knife to herself - signifying the pain she felt when the student walks away from their liaison.

needless to say, the movie has many shocking scenes that involve sadomasochistic acts that does not pass NC-17 rating. in my mind, french films is often shot in such a way that involved the audience more closely than hollywood films - and thus, i often feel too close for comfort with the characters. it is an uneasy feeling when you start to feel - you are them, and can be them.

i wonder how the black swan would fare with the piano teacher in mind.