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The Piano Teacher

The Piano Teacher

Drama · Romance · 2001

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

Movie details

The Piano Teacher

2001 Drama · Romance 2h 11m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Piano Teacher?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The French Lieutenant's Woman

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In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.

Double Lover

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Immoral Tales

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Haneke

Written by

Michael Haneke

Isabelle Huppert

Isabelle Huppert

Erika Kohut

Annie Girardot

Annie Girardot

Erika's Mother

Benoît Magimel

Benoît Magimel

Walter Klemmer

Susanne Lothar

Susanne Lothar

Mme Schober

Udo Samel

Udo Samel

Dr. George Blonskij

Anna Sigalevitch

Anna Sigalevitch

Anna Schober

Cornelia Köndgen

Cornelia Köndgen

Mme Gerda Blonskij

Court is in session

Put The Piano Teacher on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.