The Piano Teacher (2001)

Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher is a film so rich that it is difficult to know where to start when trying to analyse it and is almost impossible to do so in one article without its length becoming ridiculous. Conversely, trying to briefly cover the multitude of discussions that arise from it would surely result in not doing the film justice. With this in mind, it makes more sense to look at a key aspect of the film, in this case the idea of its central character, Erika, and her obsession with the notion of control and to focus on that.

Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert) is driven by the idea of control whether as the controller or the controlled. At times the lines between her outward and inner desires become dangerously twisted. Does she know what she wants and is what she thinks she wants merely a mask to cover her true desires? It can be hard to tell. The ambiguities between Erika’s conscious and subconscious desires are stark at times. Certainly from the outside Erika feels the need to exercise control and this notion of control is dictated by two elements in this film- sex and music.

When the films begins Erika is shown as a mistreated and repressed woman whose tyrannical mother has failed to provide her with a healthy and normal upbringing and has instead infantilised her, punished her and made her feel as though sexual desires are filthy and animalistic urges that have no relation to love. It is perhaps no surprise then that Erika’s desire for sex is intrinsically tied in with violence and pain and the forbidden. Ericka visits porn booths where she smells the discarded tissues, spies on couples having sex in cars and even mutilates her own vagina in a seeming act of pleasure. However, Erika’s vice-filled sexual landscape and her desires are not simply dictated by her relationship with her mother. Erika herself has a strong part to play in the direction and outcome of her thoughts and actions. Sexually, Erika seeks control at every opportunity. The sexual voyeurism which acts as Erika’s sex life in the early part of the film all points toward a desire to be in control as her actions all ultimately revolve around masturbation and self-pleasure as the idea of sharing her sexual experiences with anybody would be to surrender the controlling barrier she has constructed around herself.

It is suggested, through Erika’s age, actions and her unhealthy relationship with her mother, that her experiences of functional and conventional sexual relationships are minimal. When she is given the chance to break away from this dysfunction by entering into a relationship with young pianist, Walter (Benoit Magimel), Erika seeks to impose the same levels of control she exercises through her acts of sexual voyeurism into a relationship with another person. Erika tells Walter to read aloud a letter she has written for him detailing her desire to be punched, kicked and forced into sex. Even when expressing a desire to be controlled, Erika is exercising control.

Erika and Walter's first sexual encounter

Erika displays an outward desire to be in control and sees this as her means to achieving fulfillment. It is, however, when she surrenders this control that she comes closest to attaining any real happiness. This idea is exemplified in Erika’s job. She does not want students that can simply recite Schubert. She wants a resignation to the music; a total escape into it- a total surrender of control. Erika is truly at peace with herself when she also surrenders herself to Schubert and it is this resignation to her love of the music that Walter initially finds attractive as he knows that, perhaps subconsciously, such dedication to her craft and her ability to submerge herself into what she loves must extend itself into her intimate relationships with people. Walter is not deterred by the cold and distant outward persona displayed by Erika as he senses that such behaviour is a front

By telling Walter of her deviant sexual desires to be beaten, raped and humiliated, Erika feels she is gaining control and opening a door to satisfying what she thinks are her fantasies. However, Erika is understandably unhappy and frightened when she is beaten and raped by Walter and not just because such experiences are painful and unpleasant but because the loss of control she thought she wanted was an artifice; a false construct of the loss of control. Erika may have found happiness if her relationship with Walter had been based on a spontaneous loss of control derived from the power love rather than a falsely created and pre-meditated loss of control as this would have truly reflected her inner desires.

Erika's final defiant act

When Erika finally stabs herself, we see her final and desperate attempt to gain control. This incredibly distressing moment is deliberately ambiguous as it is unclear whether the self-inflicted wound is fatal. The knife appears to have entered an area between Erika’s chest and shoulder. As the blood emerges on her white blouse, it is clear the stabbing has caused pain and harm but has not necessarily killed her. Haneke seems to be suggesting that Erika can gain a small satisfaction from this act of masochism but, as she has found from her experiences with Walter, to totally act out her desire for control is not what she wants and can provide just a small instance of self-gratifying pleasure however fleeting it may be. It also suggests, somewhat bleakly, that Erika is unable to learn from her experiences and that allowing herself to be happy in a natural and non-violent or deviant way is something she is not willing to allow for herself. It is a disturbing and defiant final act in an equally disturbing and wholly unforgettable film containing one of the truly great screen performances from Isabelle Huppert.