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The Piano Teacher (2001)

R   |    |  Drama

The Piano Teacher (2001) Poster

A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.

7.5/10
56,633
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79 Metascore

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  • Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel in The Piano Teacher (2001)
  • Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel in The Piano Teacher (2001)
  • Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel in The Piano Teacher (2001)
  • Isabelle Huppert in The Piano Teacher (2001)
  • Isabelle Huppert and Benoît Magimel in The Piano Teacher (2001)
  • Christian Berger and Michael Haneke in The Piano Teacher (2001)

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Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Another 18 wins & 22 nominations.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
23 May 2009 | claudiaeilcinema
8
| A Compelling Shoker
Isabelle Huppert must be one of the greatest actresses of her or any other generation. "La Pianiste" truly confirms it. As if that wasn't enough, Annie Girardot plays her mother and Annie Girardot is one of the greatest actresses of her or any other generation. So, as you may well imagine, those pieces of casting are worth the horror we're put through. Isabelle and Annie play characters we've never seen before on the screen. A mother and daughter yes but with such virulent fearlessness that sometimes I was unable even to blink or to breath. Personally, I don't believe in the director's intentions, I don't believe they (the intentions that is) go beyond the shocking anecdote and the ending made me scream with frustration but I was riveted by the story written in the face of the sensational Huppert and the fierceness of Girardot's strength. I highly recommend it to cinema lovers anywhere and to the collectors of great performances like me, you can't afford to miss "La Pianiste"

Metacritic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabelle Huppert also plays a piano teacher in the psychological thriller Greta (2018) opposite Chloë Grace Moretz.

Quotes

The Mother: Good evening, child.
Erika Kohut: Evening, mama.
The Mother: Home already? I'm so happy.
Erika Kohut: I'm going.
The Mother: Not so fast.
Erika Kohut: Please. Leave me be. I'm tired.
The Mother: I can quite believe it. Your last pupil left 3 hours ago. Might I know where you've been all this time?
Erika Kohut: Please.
The Mother: No, you don't. Not until ...

Alternate Versions

The R-rated edition from Kino makes a number of changes and omissions, removing the shots of the hardcore peep booth footage viewed by Huppert's character in the mall, as well as optically pixellating pornographic images on magazine covers in the sex shop. In addition, this version completely removes the following two sequences: -Huppert's cutting sequence in the bathtub -Magimel taking Huppert to the ground and humping her at the hockey rink. In the latter case, the film awkwardly fades out and in again in quick succession, to elide the missing footage.

Soundtracks

Piano Trio in E flat, D.929
Franz Schubert

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Drama

Details

Release Date:

5 September 2001

Language

French, German

Country of Origin

Austria, France, Germany

Filming Locations

Austria

Box Office

Budget:

ATS70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,671 31 March 2002

Gross USA:

$1,012,069

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,765,335

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