Watching Michael Haneke's film is, aptly enough, a challenge and a punishment.Erika Kohut (Isabelle Huppert) lives with her domineering mother (Annie Girardot) in Vienna, where she teaches piano at a conservatory. Erika lives a life of severity and control, but underneath she seethes with transgressive passions: Standing like a well-groomed martinet over her students, she seems to be willing them to fail. As she begins to explore the dark side of her sexuality (sex shops, self-mutilation, a dangerous affair with a young musician), her exploits take on the desperation of a woman trying to expunge desire altogether. Huppert delivers a courageous performance as the woman around whom it ultimately falls apart.
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