Tensions rise between different cultures, always have and always will. That being said, violence is bound to occur, it’s just a matter of how and when. During the late 20th century of France, conflict was a reoccurring theme, with the involvement of wars, rioting, and social controversy. These conflicts are shown within the movies “Cache” and “The Battle of Algiers. ” In this paper, 1 will discuss the violence partaken in each film. Michael Haneke’s film, ‘Cache’, is one of a kind. Throughout the movie, the audience is consumed with anxiety, discomfort, and perhaps paranoia.
The opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie, as it leaves its’ viewers confused and suspicious. The prolonged image of a French neighborhood lingers for an eerie amount of time. This forces the viewers to be uneasy, for they don’t know what to be looking for. It seems as though something is going to catch their attention or ‘pop’ out. It is unclear at first that the image we are seeing is actually of a surveillance video. In fact, several minutes go by before this becomes obvious. We are then introduced to the main characters of the story, Georges and Anne Laurent.
Like us, they are watching this image and are confused about what exactly they should be looking at. At first, we wonder what the importance of this tape is, and why the couple is even watching it. Then realize that the video is a recording of their home, which they received anonymously. Georges and Anne immediately question who sent the tape and why. Not only is the video disturbing, but they also received multiple violent ‘childlike’ drawings as well. Twenty minutes goes by before we see any type of violence again. Then, a fight almost breaks out between Georges and an innocent biker in the streets of Paris.
His drastic overreaction brings up the question, is he picking a fight with this man simply because of his ethnicity, or is there another reason? These two men get in eachothers’ faces with the intention of harming one another. The whole situation seems unnecessary and avoidable, however it is a clear representation of the recurring violence throughout the film. When Georges and Anne get in their car, Georges apologizes for what had just happened, and says, “In any case, we now know we are on our own.
Until he torches the house or sends us bombs instead of tapes. His intense words show his fear of what violent actions are on the stalkers agenda. As the film continues, more and more videos are anonymously sent to the house. It isn’t until Georges sees his childhood home that he gets a hunch of who might be responsible for all of these mysteries. This is where we learn about Majid, an Algerian who lived with Georges and his family many years ago. The audience is unaware of the tension between the two of them at this time. The more you watch the movie, the more you learn that Georges is the reason for all of this mess.
Majid terrorizes Georges in one of his dreams involving a flashback of his childhood, which woke him in a panic. The image we see is of Majid violently cutting off the head of a chicken, feeling no remorse as the blood splattered all over his face. Then, we watch as the boy creeps closer and closer to Georges, still holding his weapon of choice. Georges courageously pays his pursuer a visit. Although he doesn’t recognize that the person is Majid at first, Majid recognizes Georges immediately and asks him to come inside.
Throughout this whole scene, we see the tension between the two men at first hand. Georges accuses Majid of sending the tapes and drawings, but Majid denies all of the acquisitions made against him. This is when Georges says, “I’m threatening you. Believe me, I mean it. ” Later on, we learn the struggles Majid has had to deal with since childhood. For instance, like many other Algerians, his parents were drowned in the SaintMichael bridge during the Paris massacre of 1961, leaving him as an orphan. Majid soon becomes a regular conversation at the Laurent’s house, which troubles Georges’ past.
As I said earlier, the more you watch the movie, the more you learn about Georges’ lies regarding Majid. For decades, Majid held a grudge because of all the lies that were told about him. The purpose of Majid’s “terrorism” simply was to regain his power that was taken from him at such a young age. This eventually drives him to slit his own throat, with no warning I might add. This scene was hands down the most violent scene throughout the whole movie, leaving the audience uncomfortable and suspicious; as the first scene did. Now, moving onto “The Battle of Algiers”, a film by Gillo Pontecorvo.
The opening scene in this movie has the same effect on the viewers as ‘Cache’, anxiety and discomfort. Immediately, we see a man who appears to be a prisoner of the French military. They order him to put on one of their uniforms and to expose Ali La Pointe’s hideout spot. The man refuses and tries escaping, but gets hit. This sets the tone for the rest of the movie, as it is obvious that there will be a confliction between the French military and Algerian citizens. In the next scene, we see the commander speaking to several people hiding inside a wall, and that is where we meet Ali La Pointe.
He is asked to come out from behind the wall, weaponless, and to surrender. A couple minutes later, we see Ali’s attempt at escaping the police, which was almost successful until he gets tripped by a young Frenchman. Rather than picking himself up to avoid arrest, Ali resorts to violence and headbutts this young man. His actions create chaos in the streets, and many people get involved. Again, unnecessary and avoidable conflict. The rest of the scene lists all of Ali’s criminal past, and we learn that he is a violent person based off his record.
A few minutes later, we see one of Ali’s fellow Algerians violently getting beheaded. This type of terror is seen throughout the entire film. Unlike Cache, where the tension was between two individuals, this movie expresses the tension between all Arabs and Europeans. The Algerian people simply want this dehumanization to end, and strive for their country back. “Remember, we are at war against colonialism. A strong army has occupied our country for 130 years.
This is why the FLN has to make decisions concerning the civil life of the Algerian people. Throughout the rest of this film, the battle between the two cultures involves unappealing amounts of violence and terrorism. With the use of guns and bombs, multiple people’s lives are over or put in jeopardy, simply because the two culture’s can’t see eye to eye. At this point in history, the world didn’t know how to resolve issues peacefully, and resorted to violence as a way to be heard. For the Algerians, they used violence as a way to break out of their social invisibility. For the French, they used violence as a way to prove their dominance over others.
The struggle for independence and rise of tension explains the reasoning behind each scene. No one is inn this film, for both sides are perpetrators of inflicting such chaos. This movie does it’s best to portray the 1950’s Algerian war of independence, and the continued conflict involving the French. As you can see, through the breakdown of these two movies, the social and political conflicts between France and Algeria have resulted in chaotic bloodbaths. The terror shed upon each culture has had everlasting effects as the war between each country prolonged for over a century.
Both films have a clear representation of violence and terror, which sheds the light on how life was once lived in the nineteenth century. In ‘Cache’, Georges represents the French people, for they too buried their shameful past of dehumanizing others, which is exactly what Georges was trying to leave behind. Then there is Majid, who represents the Algerian people as he also wanted to regain his independence from the French. Neither culture walked out of this war as the hero, due to the fact that they were equally responsible for killing many innocent people, rather than peacefully negotiating a solution.
