The Piano Teacher

Isabelle Huppert’s turn as a woman disturbed yet consumed by her own desires has lost none of its gut-punching torment, in Haneke’s unsettling drama.

Erika is a music teacher in Vienna living a hermetic, love-hate existence with her overbearing mother, escaping only to visit porn cinemas and peepshows. When she meets clean-cut, charismatic student Walter, Erika’s carefully calibrated lifestyle is threatened. Control trades hands between student and teacher, as Erika’s masochistic tendencies are inflicted upon Walter during a torrid affair.

Adapted from Nobel Prize-winner Elfriede Jelinek’s controversial 1983 novel, Haneke’s critically acclaimed film, featuring his trademark charged gaze, was rewarded with dual acting awards at Cannes. It remains shocking and uncompromising, and Isabelle Huppert’s astonishing turn as a woman disturbed yet consumed by her desires, has lost none of its gut-punching torment.