Saturday, February 11, 2006
My Interpretation Of Michael Haneke's Hidden / Caché
The film world is buzzing with rave reviews for Hidden. Time Out London liked it so much, that for the first time ever, they added an extra star to their rating system to give it 6 stars. It is a film with multiple layers of meaning, and no definite conclusions. It plays almost like a thriller, but ends up as a meditation on historical and current racism within France. To explain my interpretation, I'm giving away the entire plot, and the so-called "twist", so I'm writing in white text below. Highlight the rest of the entry, only if you are happy to have major spoilers.
To briefly summarise: The opening shot, during the credits, shows the exterior of a house. It is revealed to be a static shot from a surveillance camera. Georges is a arts TV presenter, who receives a series of these surveillance tapes showing his house. The tapes are deeply unsettling. They cause and reveal, disharmony and unrest within his family life. He begins to suspect they are from Majid, a Algerian man, whom he knew as a small child. Majid's parents worked for Georges' parents, but were killed by police, while on a political march. At the time Georges' mother had planned to adopt Majid, but through lies and manipulation, Georges persuades his parents to send Majid away to the orphanage instead. Denied his education, Majid has led a life of poverty in the Paris projects as a result. Georges however has prospered as part of the chattering classes. When Georges confronts Majid, Majid plausibly denies sending the tapes. Georges lies about this encounter to his wife, as he still feels deeply guilty about what he did to Majid. A subsequent tape, sent to his wife Anne, however shows the encounter between Georges and Majid, implicating either Majid or his son as the "stalkers". When Georges' son, Pierrot goes missing, he suspects Majid. Majid and his son are arrested overnight by racist police, and Pierrot is discovered to have been staying with a friend all along. Majid invites Georges to visit him again, and in front of Georges, commits suicide by slitting his throat. Georges finally explains to his wife, why Majid resented him so much. Some time later, Majid's son confronts Georges at work, and he too denies sending the tapes. Georges dreams of the moment when Majid was dragged away screaming to the orphanage. The final shot plays over the credits, showing the exterior of Pierrot's school. Briefly Pierrot is seen meeting and chatting aimiably with Majid's son.
The events in the film serve as a microcosm of the racism endemic in French society, and the disparity between Algerians and the white middle class French. To me the only satisfying reading of the mystery of who sends the tapes, is a post-modern one. The tapes are "sent" by Haneke the director, and the audience. We, the audience, see the surveillance tapes full screen, integrated into the film, and it is our intrusion into Georges' life that disturbs it so thoroughly. The message is that deeply awful things lie hidden in the past, both for French society, and for individuals. If there were an audience to see our secrets, and feel our guilt, our own lives too would collapse. Denial and repression are the mechanisms that protect Georges and France from their past. The final shot suggests that reconciliation and acceptance would be better for France, whereas sadly it is too late for Majid and Georges.
I do not think that is the only possible interpretation, but it is the only one that makes sense to me, given that the last shot, again appears as a static surveillance video. I hope other people have other ideas. Feel free to add as many spoilers as you like in the comments. If you have not seen it yet, then you should, because it is truly one of the most interesting, provocative, and meticulously well-made films, that I have ever seen.
The film world is buzzing with rave reviews for Hidden. Time Out London liked it so much, that for the first time ever, they added an extra star to their rating system to give it 6 stars. It is a film with multiple layers of meaning, and no definite conclusions. It plays almost like a thriller, but ends up as a meditation on historical and current racism within France. To explain my interpretation, I'm giving away the entire plot, and the so-called "twist", so I'm writing in white text below. Highlight the rest of the entry, only if you are happy to have major spoilers.To briefly summarise: The opening shot, during the credits, shows the exterior of a house. It is revealed to be a static shot from a surveillance camera. Georges is a arts TV presenter, who receives a series of these surveillance tapes showing his house. The tapes are deeply unsettling. They cause and reveal, disharmony and unrest within his family life. He begins to suspect they are from Majid, a Algerian man, whom he knew as a small child. Majid's parents worked for Georges' parents, but were killed by police, while on a political march. At the time Georges' mother had planned to adopt Majid, but through lies and manipulation, Georges persuades his parents to send Majid away to the orphanage instead. Denied his education, Majid has led a life of poverty in the Paris projects as a result. Georges however has prospered as part of the chattering classes. When Georges confronts Majid, Majid plausibly denies sending the tapes. Georges lies about this encounter to his wife, as he still feels deeply guilty about what he did to Majid. A subsequent tape, sent to his wife Anne, however shows the encounter between Georges and Majid, implicating either Majid or his son as the "stalkers". When Georges' son, Pierrot goes missing, he suspects Majid. Majid and his son are arrested overnight by racist police, and Pierrot is discovered to have been staying with a friend all along. Majid invites Georges to visit him again, and in front of Georges, commits suicide by slitting his throat. Georges finally explains to his wife, why Majid resented him so much. Some time later, Majid's son confronts Georges at work, and he too denies sending the tapes. Georges dreams of the moment when Majid was dragged away screaming to the orphanage. The final shot plays over the credits, showing the exterior of Pierrot's school. Briefly Pierrot is seen meeting and chatting aimiably with Majid's son.
The events in the film serve as a microcosm of the racism endemic in French society, and the disparity between Algerians and the white middle class French. To me the only satisfying reading of the mystery of who sends the tapes, is a post-modern one. The tapes are "sent" by Haneke the director, and the audience. We, the audience, see the surveillance tapes full screen, integrated into the film, and it is our intrusion into Georges' life that disturbs it so thoroughly. The message is that deeply awful things lie hidden in the past, both for French society, and for individuals. If there were an audience to see our secrets, and feel our guilt, our own lives too would collapse. Denial and repression are the mechanisms that protect Georges and France from their past. The final shot suggests that reconciliation and acceptance would be better for France, whereas sadly it is too late for Majid and Georges.
I do not think that is the only possible interpretation, but it is the only one that makes sense to me, given that the last shot, again appears as a static surveillance video. I hope other people have other ideas. Feel free to add as many spoilers as you like in the comments. If you have not seen it yet, then you should, because it is truly one of the most interesting, provocative, and meticulously well-made films, that I have ever seen.
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