Does The Georges-Majid Encounters?

Deep Readings of the Georges-Majid Encounters

In the film, Caché, both Georges and Majid are haunted by one another. The two are entrenched in a deeply complicated and heartbreaking past. Majid’s was destroyed at a very young age. First, his parents died, leaving him orphaned. Then, as things began to look up because he believed he would be adopted and saved; his world was once again shattered. At fault for the destruction of Majid’s young life was Georges. The web of lies Georges spun, led to Majid being devoured by the world. The two both desperately want to forget each other; Majid, the pain, and Georges the horrendous deed he had committed. The past they share is engrained in both of their memories, making each unable to forget what has
happened. In the film, we see their paths collide for a final time. With each encounter they share, it is telling how their intertwined past has influenced who they have become. They both have been irreversibly affected by it.
Georges seeks out Majid first. After decades of not hearing from one another, Georges breaks the silence. He believes Majid is stalking his family; thus, he goes to Majid seeking answers. It is apparent in the first moments when Majid first sees Georges, that he is surprised to encounter him after so many years have passed. As their encounter goes on, Georges relentlessly verbally attacks Majid, trying to get a confession from him. Majid is deeply confused and hurt by this encounter, as Georges had been completely absent from his life. Majid believed he had moved on from the misfortunes of his past and had successfully built a life all on his own. Majid’s life had moved forward, even after Georges had been cut out of it, and he had been fine on his own. The calm composure Majid maintained throughout the surprise confrontation suggests that he, unlike Georges, has moved on. He actively committed to leaving the past in the past. The same encounter is completely different from Georges’ perspective. Though he is attempting to be the intimidator; he is actually extremely intimidated. Throughout his interrogation of Majid, what stands out about Georges, is that he seems shaken; even though he is the
one in the position of power he is still afraid. His comfortable, ostentatious life had been unsettled: his family is threatened; his career is at stake; and his reputation could be destroyed. Internally, Georges is panicking, because he needs to make sure his life remains intact, while the dark deeds of his past are resurfacing before his eyes. He destroyed the life of a young boy in a single moment; now he is terrified that Majid is finally exacting revenge. If Majid exposes him, George’s reputation will be blemished. Fear causes people to do things that they normally would not. In this way, fear reveals the true character of a person. Afraid, Georges, resorts to threats; something that is very out of character in the persona he shows to the world. The entire interaction displays how completely out of control Georges feels. He would do anything to keep the life he has been living unchanged. Tensions run high, causing Georges to storm out of Majid’s apartment. Once they leaves each other, you see a different side of both of them. The camera follows Georges; who remains frazzled initially, dropping his pocket change as a result of shaky hands, but he soon calms himself and relaxes. Just minutes after being overcome with anxiety, he manages to call his wife; smoothly lie to her about what has happened; and move on from it. It was as if in some way, in his mind, he had won; allowing him to become calm and lie to Ann, choosing to believe there would be no consequences. He was wrong. Later, Georges’s wife shows him a tape sent to their home, it is a video of his argument with Majid. These clips in the video depicts, not only the fight between the two men, but also the aftermath.
It provides a look into how Majid is feeling after the tense reuinion with Georges . While Georges was in his apartment, Majid was calm and collected; but, when Georges leaves, Majid sorrowfully begins to cry. For years Majid had stood on his own two feet with no help, he was able to completely disconnect from his past. This encounter with George brought back all these memories. When Georges first arrives, Majid offers him food, as if hoping Georges has come to reconcile. Majid isn’t even shocked when things deteriorate as Georges becomes accusatory and threatening because that is the Georges he always knew. When left alone, Majid slowly loses his composure and begins to sob into his hands; defeated. There was no happy reunion that he had hoped there would be. The meeting left Majid with the wounds of his past reopened and resurfaced all the pain of the past. In their second encounter Georges and Majid do not utter a word to one another, yet there is an inaudible tension between them. Through their mannerisms during the encounter, each man’s feelings become obvious. Georges is again the reason for them seeing each other. Accompanied by the police, Georges
invades Majid’s apartment in search of his missing son. Georges is panicked with worry and inevitably he comes to the conclusion that Majid must have abducted his child. Majid is, for the second time in his life, completely disempowered by Georges as he is taken into custody by the police. Negative feelings continue to grow between the two men. Georges is completely stressed and concerned. His son is missing and to him the only logical explanation is that Majid is behind it - his judgment is clouded. It is incomprehensible to Georges that Majid would leave the past in the past; and he rationalizes that this is how Majid is responding to their ugly past relationship. Majid would have been content with a life in which Georges had never reappeared. As he is hauled away in the back of a police van, he looks completely defeated; staring blankly ahead and appearing completely destroyed. He had built a life, with no help from anyone; he struggled and persevered, and in a general sense succeeded. Then, after more than a decade, Georges suddenly reappears in his life. Majid had gotten over what had happened and tries to be civil however he finds that he is still being rejected by his former friend. It is positively devastating to Majid, that after all this passage of time, nothing has changed. Majid realizes that even after all these years, Georges is still the same little boy deep down, who still has the same capacity to dismantle his life. This, in itself, unhinges, Majid. He is broken and finally wants to hurt Georges in retribution for all the times Georges has hurt him. The final meeting of the two men is when Majid enacts his ultimate plan for revenge. He has become completely despondent due to the return of Georges. His realization that Georges will always be able to interfere with his life, breaks him. Feeling powerless, the only thing that he can fathom doing at this point, is to respond vengefully for the first and only time. He commits suicide, stating that he wanted Georges present. In doing so, he hopes to not only vindicate himself from the accusations being thrown at him, but also to force Georges to feel guilt for his actions. He is successful. When Majid slashes his own throat, Georges first stands frozen in shock. Soon he begins to pace and heave; horror creeping into him. He rushes home in a manic state, curling up into bed. Majid’s act is successful in creating a situation that will always follow and haunt Georges. A childhood of pain caused by him ultimately ends with an act of vengeful suicide preformed before him. Georges is the bookend to Majid’s painful life; a fact that resonates with him. Majid and Georges shared a deeply complicated past. Their lives were separated for decades, and then as if out of nowhere, they were thrown together once again. Their relationship was one sided, where one person seemingly held all the power; that person being Georges. Years had passed with no contact and then suddenly there he was at Majid’s door. It was clear by their uncivil reunion that the two could never be friends, however; soon Majid realizes that Georges will always have power and control over him. In a final act of defiance, Majid commits suicide while forcing Georges to watch. This act was the only way Majid believed he could ever be the one in control. In his final moment, this act made him feel he had a moment of strength that he never could find during the course of their lifelong relationship.