A MIDDLE-class Parisian family have their life disturbed when they find a video left on their doorstep.

The video shows the outside of their house, filmed from the street opposite and shows the comings and goings from the house. It lasts two hours.

Over the next few weeks, the video campaign escalates and Anne (Juliette Binoche) and Georges (Daniel Auteuil) get increasingly paranoid as they try to find out who is sending the tapes and why.

Georges can't escape from the thought that it may have something to do with his past and his wife can't deal with his increasing secrecy.

Hidden is described as Michael Haneke's (The Piano Teacher) most accessible work and indeed he won the best director award at Cannes.

But don't let words like 'accessible' put you off, it is a peerless psychological thriller that deals with some difficult subjects, with frequent news references to the war in Iraq, French-Algerian riots of the 1960s and races living side by side in abject hostility.

It questions racism and attitudes to race, it is voyeurism, hopelessness and fear all rolled in to one and above all it questions guilt and responsibility.

Its timing is poignant following the recent Parisian riots in France and as the viewer you are the voyeur watching the family's tragedy, but there are times when the boundary between voyeurism and viewing become blurred.

There is no staccato soundtrack to tell you when to get scared, instead Haneke takes you on the same journey his characters are making.

So, when it comes, one of the film's most shocking scenes is a genuine unnerving jolt.

Without giving too much away, the end scene fits perfectly with the film, but don't expect all your questions answered.