The Piano Teacher18

Directed by Michael Haneke | Austria/France/Germany | 2001 | 2h 11m | French & German w/ English subtitles | Starring Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel, Susanne Lothar, Udo Samel

Erika Kohut is a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory, living in emotional confinement with her domineering mother. Now in her forties, Erika finds release only in secret visits to adult cinemas and peepshows. But when a student attempts to seduce her, the rigid walls she has built around herself begin to crumble, unleashing a torrent of repressed and dangerous desire. Isabelle Huppert delivers a steely, unforgettable performance in Michael Haneke’s provocative psychological drama. Winner of the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, it remains a disturbing and powerful work nearly 25 years after its release.

Reviews

‘The film still holds the same fraught charge it did a quarter of a century ago.’
★★★★★
Danny Leigh, Time Out

‘This is a film, European arthouse to its core, that seemed to look back at Hollywood’s “erotic thriller” boom — Basic Instinct, Body of Evidence, Eyes Wide Shut — and say: “Pah, that’s nothing.”’
★★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Piano Teacher between July 19, 2025 and July 21, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Tuesday 17th February)

18:00

Teki Cometh 18+
£6 for members
1h 48m | Japanese w/ English subtitles
Retired French literature professor Gisuke lives a quiet, solitary life — until a mysterious email plunges him into haunting dreams and growing dread, forcing him to reckon with his deepest sins as his respectable facade begins to crumble.

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21:00

The History of Sound 15
£6 for Members
2h 8m
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star as two young musicians who fall in love through American folk music, then reunite after World War I to preserve disappearing songs. From the director of Living, a tender, melancholic romance about the power off music and memory.

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Tomorrow (Wednesday 18th February)

15:00

No Other Choice 15
2h 19m | Korean w/ English subtitles
After losing his job of 25 years, a desperate family man turns to murder to eliminate his rivals. Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s The Ax, Park Chan-wook (Decision to Leave) delivers a wicked, stylish thriller with razor-sharp dark humour.

Book here

18:00

The History of Sound 15
2h 8m
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor star as two young musicians who fall in love through American folk music, then reunite after World War I to preserve disappearing songs. From the director of Living, a tender, melancholic romance about the power off music and memory.

Book here

21:00

H Is for Hawk 12A
1h 55m
Grieving her father’s death, Helen finds solace in training a wild goshawk, forcing her to confront her own emotional isolation. Claire Foy gives a career-best performance in this deeply moving adaptation of Helen MacDonald’s acclaimed memoir.

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Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!