Movie Review

Caché

Cache (in English: Hidden) is a film that will mostly be appreciated by film buffs. The film is a blend of several pictures and styles, from Steven Soderbergh?s Bubble (B-), to the foreign thriller With a Friend Like Harry (B), to the 1966 picture, Blow-Up (B), and is a film that Hitchcock would've loved considering that director Michael Haneke does everything he possibly can to keep everything vague and mysterious. What?s most impressive about Cache is that the concept is so simple and the dialogue is just ordinary, and the film moves along at a snail?s pace for two hours ? and yet without that exact setup, the picture wouldn?t have the effect that it does. We never know any more than the two main characters do about what is going on in the moment; and even when not much is happening, the cinematography and silence keep us there, waiting. The entire film was shot without music like Paradise Now (B-), only Cache is much more of an experience and achievement in this regard; it gets to the point immediately and there?s more to pay attention to in the acting and character nuances and cinematography, and is minimalist filmmaking at its finest.

The film is about a mysterious videotape that a couple finds on their doorstep, and on the videotape is a long clip featuring their house with nothing but everyday life in motion. The couple (played by Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche as Georges and Anne) is not sure what to make of this, and they think it might be a prank by one of their son?s friends (or someone else). In the days to come, they continue to receive additional footage on videotapes (which are yet again clips of everyday life revolving around some angle of their home), which forces them to take the matter to police ? only they won?t do anything until the suspect(s) strikes. This sends the couple into a paranoid state, and forces them to look into their past to see if they have any possible enemies.

Cache has the feel of a late 1960?s or 1970?s thriller when many films had an intellectual vibe. There?s a little touch of All the President?s Men (B) in the use of cinematography and silence, as well as the previous films I mentioned, and is a film that not a lot of people will ?dig? ? to an average moviegoer or those looking for the classic definition of a thriller, it?ll likely be excruciatingly boring. To call this film a ?thriller? is almost misleading; it?s a quiet mystery. Most of its impact comes indirectly through what is not shown, which creates quite a punch. This is the kind of filmmaking I appreciate most in this genre, as it doesn?t insult the viewer or pound you over the head with the obvious; it makes you think and keeps you on your toes.

I first saw acclaimed French actor Daniel Auteuil in last year?s comedy, Apre Vous (in English: After You), which was not exactly the best way for me to be introduced to him after having seeing this piece. I wasn?t a fan of Apre Vous considering its use of slapstick, and the movie was the type of over-the-top French cinema that I loathe. In Cache, however, I saw a different actor in Auteuil, and he surprised me quite a bit. This is the suppressed version of the actor in which he isn?t mugging for the camera, and he is superb as an everyday man trying to come to grips with this predicament. The film overall is what you would call a classic ?actor?s piece? in that the minimalist script allows the actors to really get behind the characters and develop subtle nuances for them. And those details are part of what makes the film most believable, as if we?re watching reality.

Cache can easily be called pretentious cinema, and as I was watching it, I was very well aware of the dangerous grounds it was walking on. This is one of those films I could?ve easily hated as a result of its long takes and static camera setups. After all, I tend to dislike foreign cinema for that very reason, as many pieces try to be intellectually stimulating and just come off like an artsy fartsy NYU project. Cache has two top of the line performances from its two leads, and fine performances are usually what a foreign picture offers ? only here I finally found a foreign piece that has a very absorbing story as well (which is almost as rare as finding a great movie in today?s marketplace). I tend to think most stories developed by foreign filmmakers don?t really need to be told, and are mostly made for the NYU-type scholars (in which the definition of art is pretty limited to visuals).

Cache almost received a B+ from me and was in contention with Grizzly Man (B) and Brokeback Mountain (B/B+) as my second (or third) favorite film of 2005, behind Crash (B+). What left me hanging a little below that grade placement was the manner in which the story is revolved. I was a little disappointed at the resolution, but at the same time it does fit in with the tone of the feature. Cache intends to evoke discussion and debate about the controversial issues it vaguely brings up, and that makes the film?s finale frustrating. However, it?s almost a good type of frustration, as the film lingers with you afterwards (like the foreign thriller, Swimming Pool). This is a film that I will remember with time, and is definitely one of the best foreign features I?ve seen in my time.

Lee's Grade: B
Ranked #8 of 143 between Grizzly Man (#7) and King Kong (#9) for 2005 movies.

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%