Caché (2005)

A whodunnit where the culprit isn't important and is merely a means to provoke thought and discussion? That's what we have in the film Caché aka Hidden. Michael Haneke is a director that wants to bring ideas and sociopolitical issues to the forefront. His characters and story are tools used to invoke a discussion he wants to engage his audience in. In this film he wanted to discuss the relationship between the French and the Algerians and they're troubled past. It's also about the things we keep hidden from one another, even ourselves. The lies, memories and guilt that we hold in our past. We see all these dealt with through the lens of denial and pride.


The story starts with Georges and Anne(Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche), a married couple receiving video tapes of the front of their home along with bloody childlike drawings and strange phone calls. They grow concerned as each new video tape becomes more and more personal, especially for the husband Georges, a TV host of a literary talk show. Two videos show up that leads Georges to believe it's a person from his past; an adopted brother from his childhood named Majid. Through the rest of the film we see him try to reveal the truth of who the perpetrator is while hiding the truth of his past from those around him and even himself.

If you have any inkling that this may be a visceral thriller, it isn't. Haneke doesn't have any interest in the visceral. The movie plays more like a slow family drama that allows you to contemplate what is going on. There are many static shots and camera movement is very minimal. The objective isn't to bring you into the movie, but to push you away in order to reflect. This Brechtian device allows the viewer to think analytically instead of responding emotionally. You are surveilling the characters just as the perpetrator does.


The cast does a fine job in their roles. Juliette Binoche does a great job with what on paper was probably a limited role. Daniel Auteuil fits well as a prideful man in denial. Many will see him as an embodiment of France and it's denial of it's past with Algeria. The cinematography fits the film well and Haneke knows exactly what he's doing in the directing department. The devices he uses to tell the story often have interesting results, including some shocking moments. Caché seems to fit well in his filmography. My experience with his movies have been his US version of Funny Games and The White Ribbon. He deals with themes of guilt, oppression, repression, sudden violence and the seediness that rests right below the surface of everyday life.


If what you're looking for is a fun night at the movies, this movie is not for you. This is for the more critical thinking viewer. I've seen it on many top of the decade lists and I can't say those are wrong. I wouldn't personally list it that high but I can see the value of the movie and why it's so acclaimed. Haneke is one of the most important directors currently making movies, but not a personal favorite. I'm engaged by the ideas in his movies but I also need other aspects to work in conjunction with those ideas. Cache is a good film, but not one I can readily recommend to most. Despite this, it's always refreshing to be engaged by a movie that not only doesn't talk down to you, but respects your intelligence so much that it challenges you to fill in the gaps. If you see this film, hopefully you'll have someone else to discuss it with. It's a movie to discuss, ponder and absorb.