Summary:
A married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes that are left on their front door.
My Thoughts:
Before we get started ‘Cache’ is French for ‘Hidden’.
I was first came into contact with Michael Haneke through his disturbing Austrian thriller “Funny Games (1997)” and then his British remake “Funny Games (2007)”. It’s rare that a director remakes his own film in a different language, and while I can’t say the versions were remarkably different other than the performances, I can say that the story Haneke told and how he told it got my attention. “Funny Games” showed me that Haneke knows how to handle violence in ways that feels shocking and revolting, and furthermore, he knew how to craft an atmosphere that made me feel incredibly uneasy. When I’m looking for a tense thriller, those qualities are exactly what I need in a director. While this film is not nearly as violent or as disturbing as either version of “Funny Games”, it does have that same tense atmosphere throughout the film, and though I’ve only watched this film once, I think it might be better than either version of “Funny Games”.
“Who’d find this funny?”
Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil, “Jean de Florette”), a rising TV personality, and his wife Anne (Juliette Binoche, “Clouds of Sils Maria”) live happy lives in France, until one day a mysterious video tape showing surveillance of the front of their building arrives on their doorstep. Disturbed, they go to the police, but since no violence has been threatened, they are unable to do anything. As more tapes show up, Georges and Anne find themselves growing more and more paranoid; who would do this sort of thing, and what is the purpose?
As far as the overall story goes, I found myself making a lot of comparisons to the American film “The Gift”. Both films revolve around our protagonists dealing with secrets of their past and the ways that those secrets might further impact their life today, and both films have rather unsettling characters from our protagonist’s pasts. If I were to have any qualms with this film at all, it would only be with the pacing. I personally think the film gives a pretty tense atmosphere throughout the whole of the runtime, but there are moments where not much happens other than characters sitting around and discussing things, and that does slow things up a bit.
The best part about this film is the writing and directing. Haneke knows how to grab a viewer’s eye and hold their attention, even when nothing is ostensibly happening on screen. There are many sequences of this film that are comprised of long, surveillance-style static shots of buildings. Where, in any other movie, this kind of flat shot with nothing to look at might be boring, Haneke knows how to make the viewer watch those vacant frames intently, searching for meaning. Sometimes Haneke hides things in his frames, but what really makes this movie even better is the fact that sometimes in those shots there isn’t anything that we need to be looking for at all. The idea of playing with the viewer’s perception of what is happening really messed with me the entire film; I was constantly on edge, and I was constantly scouring the frames for clues to something I might’ve missed.
In my opinion, the choice to hide things in some frames but not in others is one of the most brilliant examples of great directing I’ve seen in a while. The choice is so subtle that the viewer doesn’t even realize what’s happening until after the film has concluded, and they’re left reflecting on what they’ve just watched. What makes this film even better is the fact that the premise is so simple, that it becomes very believable and real. Keeping a thriller this grounded makes it easier for the viewer to identify with the main characters and put themselves in their shoes. The characters in this film aren’t spies or action heroes; they’re regular people that suddenly find themselves in way over their heads.
As far as acting goes, Daniel Auteiul does a fine job; really, the story is mostly about him. He’s the character that goes through the most amount of change and he’s also the one who has the most at stake. Juliette Binoche is marvelous as always; I honestly would’ve loved to have seen a little more of her, as she wound up being more of a supporting character than anything else. Two other actors that do remarkable jobs are Maurice Benichou (“Amelie”) and Walid Afkir (“Amour”), but I’d rather not reveal what roles they play.
Verdict:
This is a great film. It’s sinister and dark, but that darkness is, as the title implies, hidden away beneath the surface. What makes the title even more prevalent is the fact that the ending of this film has hidden messages even into the last scene. This is a movie that exudes paranoia in the best way possible, and one that will linger in the viewers’ minds long after the credits have rolled.
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