The Piano Teacher

2001 2h 11m FR

👍

7.3

SOLID

🍅

75%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,352🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes●79Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 78,387

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

HBO MaxSubscription

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Isabelle Huppert
Erika Kohut
Annie Girardot
Erika's Mother
Benoît Magimel
Walter Klemmer
Susanne Lothar
Mme Schober
Udo Samel
Dr. George Blonskij
Anna Sigalevitch
Anna Schober
Cornelia Köndgen
Mme Gerda Blonskij
Thomas Weinhappel
Baritone

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Haneke
Writers: Michael Haneke
Languages: French, German
Countries: France, Austria, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Austria, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Haneke, shot by Christian Berger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Francis Haines. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nadine Muse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Isabelle Huppert and Annie Girardot and Benoît Magimel carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0254686 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Haneke directs. Christian Berger behind the camera. Francis Haines scores. Nadine Muse cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, Austria, Germany. Dialogue in French, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

125 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, German.
3International production across 3 countries: France, Austria, Germany.
4Directed by Michael Haneke, shot by Christian Berger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Francis Haines. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nadine Muse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Isabelle Huppert and Annie Girardot and Benoît Magimel carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0254686 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 37 themes, including "concert", "based on novel or book", "music teacher", "fetish".
10Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Christian Berger
Original score: Francis Haines
Editing: Nadine Muse
Production design: Christoph Kanter
Costume design: Annette Beaufays
Makeup / hair: Ellen Just-Hofmann
Sound: Guillaume Sciama
Runtime: 131 min · 2h 11m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,200,000
Box office: $6,766,708
Return: 109% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Piano Teacher (2001)
Rotten Tomatoes: 75% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 79/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 78,387 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award18 wins & 24 nominations total

Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix
César Award for Best Supporting Actress
European Film Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Michael Haneke

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-09-25
★ 7/10
There are some fairly unnerving strands in this drama that make for uncomfortable viewing at times. “Erika” (Isabelle Huppert) is a rather uncharismatic music professor, still living and sleeping with her mother (Annie Girardot) who finds herself being pursued by the handsome young pianist “Walter“ (Benoît Magimel). Ostensibly, he wants her to guide him through the vagaries of Schubert, but is clearly much more fascinated with her than with her prowess as a teacher. Initially, she dislikes him. She considers she has little to teach this confident, borderline arrogant, young man but he persists. Meantime, we learn a little of this woman’s own personality, of her compromised self-esteem, peccadilloes, and of her innate sexual frustrations so whilst some of what comes next is shocking, it’s not so very surprising. Not for the viewer, at any rate, but for the young “Walter”, well he can’t quite decide if he’s repelled or ensnared - or both. Huppert delivers an understated yet masterly performance here as she exposes the vulnerability of a woman lauded for her musical talents but almost entirely under-appreciated as an human being. Magimel also brings something insecure and susceptible to his own role as her conduct simultaneously inspires and corrupts his own. It asks quite a few questions about the more visceral elements of human behaviour. Boundaries that, or ought to, seem set fast soon dissolve amidst emotionally and/hormonally-charged scenarios, but then can reset themselves as if someone had flicked a switch off, then back on again. The denouement is fittingly inconclusive - riddled with exasperation, indifference and what I thought was a fairly ghastly assessment of just how empty her shell of a life could be, and it’s provocative stuff about what drives us to crave acceptance, attention and love and the lengths we will go to procure them.

Production companies