Updated: The Strange, Siren Call of Roger Ebert

Scene from Cache, which will be discussed in short order on this blog.

A random train of events today has brought me to my wit's end:

First, I wrote a late review of A Judgement in Stone for this blog, but before I posted it, I went hunting for an image to accompany it.

Second, while combing through my search results for "images/Judgement in Stone" I noticed that some of my results were for a French movie called La Cérémonie.

Third, I did some clicking and discovered that La Cérémonie is indeed a based on Judgement in Stone.

Fourth, I decided to request this movie from Netflix, for compare and contrast.

Fifth, Netflix suggested other movies I might like, based on La Cérémonie, and one of them was Caché.

Sixth, This suggestion tinkled memory bells. "Oh," I thought, "that was supposed to be a good movie, but maybe very violent? I will click these links to reviews and see if it's v. bloody before I add it to my queue."

Seventh, I click on sidebar and read Rogert Ebert's review, and the man is a Movie Review Siren because, although the movie came out four years ago and I was doing just fine without it, I now feel confident that if I don't see this movie TONIGHT I will be heartsick. Here is a sample of his sweet siren call:

The opening shot of Michael Haneke's "Caché" shows the facade of a townhouse on a side street in Paris. As the credits roll, ordinary events take place on the street. Then we discover that this footage is a video, and that it is being watched by Anne and Georges Laurent (Juliette Binoche and Daniel Auteuil). It is their house. They have absolutely no idea who took the video, or why it was sent to them.

So opens a perplexing and disturbing film of great effect, showing how comfortable lives are disrupted by the simple fact that someone is watching. [snip]

I have deliberately left out a great deal of information, because the experience of "Caché" builds as we experience the film. There are parallels, for example, between the TV news that is often on in the background, and some of the events in Georges' past. We expect that the mystery of the videos will be solved, explained, and make sense. But perhaps not. Here is a curious thing: In some of the videos, the camera seems to be in a position where anyone could see it, but no one ever does.

I have to see a particularly mysterious scene he describes elsewhere in the review. I HAVE to see it and see if I can understand what it means. The question: do I pay $10 and buy it right now from Amazon? Or do I wait 48 hrs to get it from Netflix? Grrrr.

Updated: I chose Netflix, but I'm not happy about it.