This is from an assignment from my Art Philosophy class, hence why I mostly talk about the opening shot. I got an A.

I often argue for the importance of context in art, and this is one of the ultimate uses of it in film. The opening shot of Michael Haneke’s brilliant film Caché is at first mundane, then terrifying as it recurs throughout the film. It didn’t need to be artfully framed to serve its purpose perfectly and at first glance it isn’t, but, as is always the case with Haneke, there are myriad subtle things that add further to the disturbance.
The opening shot in question is of a domestic city street in France. It lingers for quite…

At this point, I should just tattoo Michael Haneke's name across my ass because he fucking owns it. 

Caché is a tricky, tricky film, and Haneke is a tricky, tricky director. He loves to play games with his audience, much like a cat with a mouse. He relishes revealing the part we play as viewers, and consequently calling into question the act of viewership itself. Wheras Funny Games forces us to engage with our participation in film violence (specifically films of the tortue porn variety), Caché poses a question for the audience: is it possible that we are the stalker?

There's much to debate about who, exactly, is filming the tapes that terrorize the Laurent family. The brilliant final shot…

Let me explain to you what will happen the first time you watch Caché: you will be bored out of your mind at establishing shots that go on for minutes at a time. Periodically, these will be interrupted by a thriller with an interesting enough plot that are enough to keep you watching the movie. Every so often, like every Haneke film, it will be punctuated by acts of extreme violence that no matter how sensitized you are to it, will always be shocking. Finally, by the last shot, you'll be thinking "well, some of that was intense, but I don't see what's so great about it." And then you'll notice something in that final shot that goes on forever,…

Das was man bei der Story erwartet und das was dann letztlich dabei rumkommt – das muß nicht unbedingt Hand in Hand gehen wenn der Film von Michael Haneke ist. Das war schon bei „Funny Games“ so der als Story hatte das zwei Psychopathen eine Familie als Geiseln nehmen – aber dann eine totale Kritik an Medien und Filmischer Gewalt dabei herausspringt. Ebenso ist es hier: die Story klingt nach nem routinierten Psychothriller in dem ein Ehepaar von einem Irren bedroht wird. Ist aber nicht so: die plötzliche Bedrohung der das relativ unsympathische Paar ausgesetzt wird ist nur der Auslöser, die Spitze des Eisbergs quasi – und dadurch wird dann ein entlarvender Prozeß in Gang gesetzt. Da geht es es…