La Pianiste

Austria, France

Synopsis

Erika Kohut, in her late thirties, and a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory, lives with her tyrannical elderly mother in a hermeticaily sealed world of love-hate and dependency in which there is no room for men. Her sex life consists of voyeurism and masochistic self-injury. Then one of Erika's pupils decides to seduce his teacher.

Director's Biography

Born in 1942, Michael Haneke studied philosophy, psychology and theatre in Vienna. From 1967 to 1970 he worked for German television. Since 1970 he has been an independent director and screenwriter. He has also directed theatre productions in Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf. Frankfurt and Hamburg.

Filmography:
1989 THE SEVENTH CONTINENT
1992 BENNY'S VIDEO
1994 71 FRAGMENTS OF A CHRONOLOGY OF CHANCE
1996 THE CASTLE
1997 FUNNY GAMES
2000 CODE INCONNU
2001 THE PIANO TEACHER
 | 

Cast & Crew

Directed by: Michael Haneke

Written by: Michael Haneke

Produced by: Michael Katz

Cinematography: Christian Berger

Editing: Andreas Prochaska, Monika Willi

Production Design: Christoph Kanter

Costume Design: Anette Beaufays

Make-Up & Hair: Thi Loan Nguyen

Cast: Isabelle Huppert (Erika Kohut), Benoit Magimel (Walter Klemmer), Annie Girardot (mother), Susanne Lothar (Mrs. Schober), Udo Samel (Dr. Blonskij )

Nominations and Awards

  • European Actress 2001
  • People's Choice Award 2001
  • European Film 2001
  • European Screenwriter 2001
  • Feature Film Selection 2001