George, host of a television show focusing on literature, receives videos shot on the sly that feature his family, along with disturbing drawings that are difficult to interpret. He has no idea who has made and sent him the videos. Progressively, the contents of the videos become more personal, indicating that the sender has known George for a long time.
Direction
Haneke's static shots that weaponize your own paranoia.
Acting
Auteuil's unraveling privilege; Binoche's silent devastation.
Writing
The final shot—still debated 20 years later.
Director
Michael Haneke
Daniel Auteuil
Georges Laurent
Juliette Binoche
Anne Laurent
Annie Girardot
Georges's Mother
Bernard Le Coq
Georges's Editor-In-Chief
Daniel Duval
Pierre
Maurice Bénichou
Majid
Walid Afkir
Majid's Son
Lester Makedonsky
Pierrot Laurent
Nathalie Richard
Mathilde
Denis Podalydès
Yvon
Caroline Baehr
Nurse
Christian Benedetti
Georges's Father
Loïc Brabant
Police Officer No. 2
Aïssa Maïga
Chantal
Jean-Jacques Brochier
TV Guest
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1961 Paris massacre of Algerian protesters—deliberately erased from French textbooks—haunts this film as unspoken history.
The opening 'static shot' is actually the first hidden tape; Haneke tricks you into being the voyeur before you know the game.
FR
