Caché (2005)

Georges: Know what, you're sick. You're sick like your father. I don't know what dumb obsessions he fed you. But I can tell you this...you'll never give me a bad conscience because your father's life was sad or a failure. I'm not to blame. Do you get that? If you ever try to hurt me or my family, you'll regret it. I can guarantee that.
Majid's son: Ah, yes. Threats...you're very good at those.
Georges: Do you expect me to apologize?
Majid's son: To whom? Me?
Georges: So what more do you want?
Majid's son: Nothing anymore. I wondered how it feels, a man's life on your conscience. That's all. Now I know.

Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) is a TV book show host who has a successful and a happily married life. Anne Laurent (Juliette Binoche) is his equally successful wife and they have a teenager kid, Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky). What could be the story of the perfect family is interrupted after the couple start receiving video tapes to let them know they are being watched. As we move further and the plot thickens, we see those are not just surveillance tapes but they are also linked to Georges' childhood.

When Georges takes a trip back to his childhood days, he feels haunted by the thoughts of how he had wronged Majid, the adopted son of his parents. Having initially kept that part of his childhood from his wife, Georges is confronted by Anne when another tape arrives that has recorded the conversation between him and Majid (Maurice Benichou). Even though Georges is convinced Majid is out to take revenge, a look at the tapes and the behavior of Majid suggests nothing along those lines. When Anne isn't so sure about Majid's involvement and feels that Georges must have done something to rob Majid of his childhood, cracks appear in their marriage and also in their relationship with their son.

The movie's ending is highly debatable and the million dollar question remains who sent those tapes. Although just viewing it as a story on domestic trouble wouldn't give one enough reasons to sing praises of it, there are quite a few interesting explanations that only the French would know in more detail. One such explanation being that it talks about the history of the French-Arab relations in the country and how the wrongs once committed by the French are now coming back to haunt the country. Chickens coming home to roost? Well, I'm not sure if the chicken scene is itself a form of symbolism, but this explanation definitely sounds plausible. And as explained by one comment, the last scene showing a crowd of people is symbolically asking the viewers to look through the "noise" and concentrate on the details. And when you do, you get the message - Trust no one. The last part being just my interpretation and I'd love to discuss/argue my point on this.

Depending on what actually was the intention of the director, Michael Haneke, this could be pure genius....or not.

Rating - 7.5/10