Synopsis
The Piano Teacher (La pianiste) (2001) Erika Kohut is a pianist, teaching music. Schubert and Schumann are her forte, but she's not quite at concert level. She's approaching middle age, living with her mother who is domineering then submissive; Erika is a victim then combative. With her students she is severe. She visits a sex shop to watch DVDs; she walks a drive-in theater to stare at couples having sex. Walter is a self-assured student with some musical talent; he auditions for her class and is forthright in his attraction to her. She responds coldly then demands he let her lead. Next she changes the game with a letter, inviting him into her fantasies. How will he respond; how does sex have power over our other faculties?

Awards: 18 wins & 23 nominations total
Budget: ATS 70,000,000 (estimated)
Worldwide Gross: $6,766,381
Soundtrack: Piano Sonata in A Major, D.959 (Franz Schubert)


Michael Haneke
Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel
2001-09-05 (France, Austria, Germany)
tt0254686