European cinema mastermind Michael Haneke weaves an intriguing web of quiet terror and suspicious paranoia. Georges and Anne, a happily married couple, begin receiving videotapes, depicting the outside of there house, implying they are being watched. Georges delves deep into his past to discover the truth.
This is an excellent, compelling and dangerous film, and certainly one to watch more than once. Haneke uses his skilfull camerawork to create shots as vivid and motionless as a painting, and as beautiful. Shots where nothing important seems to be happening, but what's more disturbing is not the events portrayed, but the implications. Some of the shots are so stationary and quiety still that we cannot tell whether we are watching one of the “videotapes” or actual, real life. There are some moments of the film (particularly the final scene) which seem dull and unimportant, but which, if you look closer to find the hidden meaning, can unleash a whole new series of questions to ponder.
It is a clever film, perhaps Haneke's masterpiece, and certainly a thought-provoking analysis of the privacy we take for granted.