Very late thoughts on Caché

I remember when several of the Huffy Crew blogateers saw Caché at the Tivoli. I was not cool enough to see it then, but I just watched it tonight on a rental, and I must say, it's great. A few questions, though: Everyone talked about how the final shot reveals so much... Did I miss something? (Spoilers here, for those who care about such things.) Majid's son meets Pierrot outside the school, they exchange what looks like friendly talk, and part ways. Are we supposed to assume that they know each other? That they were working together all along with the tapes? Even though there was no clear resolution I loved the effect. Being the typical moviegoer I expected someone to come out of the darkness when Georges goes to sleep in his final scene and kill him or something. Instead we get a flashback (dream?) followed by the school shot. The actor playing Georges was fucking fantastic. I'll never forget that nose. At first you have mild sympathy for him before realizing he's an asshole and a liar. All his scenes are completely bizarre. His interactions with his wife, his son, Majid, Majid's son at the end...totally surreal. There's not a realistic moment in the whole movie, but I think that's supposed to be the point. Here are my main questions: Does anyone remember the Iraq footage, where they quote the Italian woman? I thought there must be some significance there... Also, when Anne and Pierrot have their talk after Pierrot comes home from spending the night out: this made absolutely no sense to me, I realize that Pierrot was insinuating something about his mother and her boss, Pierre, but her reaction was just weird. (The Pierre/Pierrot pairing makes me think we're supposed to understand some sort of subconscious message/familio-romantic anxiety.) Overall, I loved the long takes and the odd camera focus. It brought attention to all the various passers-by, the people in cars, on bikes, at the nearest table, etc. One of the more atypical movies I've seen in a long time.