Interesting french thriller by Michael Haneke (better remember his name...).
It's difficult to review this movie cuz at first I got this feeling of disappointment but the minute the credits started to roll I was amazed. Every shot is thoroughly planned and there's very minimalistic photography. But it's only a positive thing cuz it doesn't take away the attention of the perfect acting. The story itself could've been more interesting, leaving some questions unanswered.
Caché no es la gran obra que esperaba de Haneke. Aunque, a pesar de no resolver satisfactoriamente los dilemas que plantea durante sus exhaustivas 2 horas de duración, es capaz de introducirnos en los traumas y pesadillas del pasado de un padre de familia. Los vídeos anónimos son inofensivas tomas fijas de la fachada de la casa de Georges (Auteuil), acompañados de terroríficos dibujos, aparentemente, hechos por la mano de un niño. La alarma se desatará en este hermético conductor de televisión, en su esposa (Juliette Binoche), escritora y editora, y su hijo preadolescente.
Escrita por Haneke, Caché contará con elementos para construir un climático thriller, pero lo que más interesa no será tanto desenmascarar al culpable, sino hacer un registro cotidiano de cómo la paranoia va destruyendo el núcleo familiar de Georges. Lo inquietante en la cinta (quizás el aspecto menos creíble) será la presencia casi fantasmagórica de ese ?observador oculto?, de ese autor de las cintas. ¿Todo es producto de la paranoica imaginación de Georges? Como llega a suceder en el cine de Haneke, la respuesta al misterio quedará abierta, a interpretación del propio espectador. Gracias a los notables planos fijos y abiertos durante casi todo el filme, Haneke nos convierte en este ?observador? escondido.
Entre esta serie de frentes abiertos prevalecen subtextos interesantes, como el resentimiento social de los inmigrantes hacia el indiferente ciudadano francés. Sin embargo, Caché acaba siendo una simple curiosidad en la filmografía de Haneke, a pesar de que en ese plano final fijo de los créditos ?según dicen- estén las claves ocultas para resolver el misterio. Más en http://pantallanueve.blogspot.com
Michael Haneke is a very interesting filmmaker, in that he makes films the mass public absolutley loathes and that most other people don't love but certainly appreciate. While I didn't think Cache was one of his best films, I thought it was a very well-made well-acted film that had some serious pacing problems. First of all, let's give credit where credit is due, Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche both give sensational performances, the better of the two obviously being Auteuil who brings a sense of humanity and guilt to his character uncommon in most thrillers. The thing that really bothered me about this film is how real it was. The brutal-to-sit-through long-takes Haneke is famous for is what opens the film and while certainly interesting after about 2 minutes or so I started to lose interest. In the end, there is really no resolution. I was expecting a thriller and got a drama about the intricatcies of humanity. Maybe if I went into it knowing that I would have enjoyed it more. As it stands, Cache was a well-made film but certainly nothing brilliant, groundbreaking or remotely memorable. Grade: B-
A psychological suspense drama of the utmost rigor and originality. Whether viewed as a political allegory or a domestic drama, this is the most accessible film yet from one of Europe?s very finest filmmakers.
The worst of all possible scenarios is when a director sets out to intentionally and patronizingly bore the audience and succeeds. There is no story here, the plot incomplete. It takes a stab at trying to implicate 'bourgeoise' life in ... in what, I'm not sure.
This film is not strong enough in character(s) to be a personal story--man against himself. Troubled pasts are not a class exclusive. There was no one and nothing to care about, fear, or empathize with in this film. None of which is absolutely necessary but it might have been sufficient.
A nice little film that goes places you never thought it'd go. A simple story told in a very interesting way, which leads the view to no particular conclusion. I love that the director doesn't want to sum up the film and give you nothing to think about or talk about once the story concludes. A masterful work made by a filmmaker with integrity.
The one word I can think of to describe this movie: taut. It keeps you curious throughout the whole 2 hours and, because it doesn't have a distinct resolution (although it is implied), it will keep you curious for long afterwards. Cache also has one of the most unexpected, shocking scenes that I have ever watched in a movie. A fantastic film.
I suppose I'm in the minority when I say that I liked "Cache." Haneke upsets the majority immensely here and seems like the biggest, most pretentious asshole director ever. It's not only the excessive ambiguity that causes such hatred, but the manner in which the directing had to take place. Artsy and very technical directing, yes: Haneke perfectly captures the stalker/voyeur and frustrations are sparked even more.
Overall collaboration aside, "Cache" has two of my favorite actors acting horribly, in that they lack chemistry. Haneke (or whomever) focused on the abstruseness too much. The malleable characters in here are placed without them having a purpose, unlike in "La Pianiste," where Haneke aced all areas - especially the character development. Seemingly a minor flaw, this vexation costs the film too much, at times, slowing the pace atrociously. But not all films are entirely dependent of acting. It would've been nice if this one was properly balanced, but it goes to show that its other areas are potent.
So, if you're prepared to be mind*****d in a unique style, and are patient enough, watch "Cache." Props, too, to the parts that visually disturbed the audience. Reality is what I ask from every film. Though, it's sort of anti-PETA.
This movie is really something else...it's amazing how there is no need for special effects of any kind...and how repeating certain things can really get under your skin. The actors are amazing in here, regardless of how well known they are/aren't.
But really...and the certain events in here are SO IN-YOUR-FACE....and you wonder what the hell happened....jump back and then tune in anticipation wondering if that was just now...what's going to happen next.
It seriously scared me, intensely. Just wow.
The sad thing was...when it ended...it stopped making sense...and I didn't get it. Maybe it's something that needs to be watched again and again to get it...but overall the atmosphere was just phenomenal to really make you think.
Haneke is a cinematic terrorist. Able to find terror from the simplest of situations, he brilliantly derives it from reality, politics and the threat of the home. We follow a well-to-do Parisian family, as they recieve anonymous cassette tapes, initially featuring a 2-hour surveillance of their house which later develops into something more sinister. Here's the dilemma: we never really do find out who films them. It acts as a MacGuffin to unravel Paris' unsavoury political past (as of course, they do prefer to get naked behind the curtains). With the effect of the tapes though, Haneke was able to involve the audience: one is that the people watching the film become the stalkers themselves, effectively breaking the fourth wall. The other effect was that the entire film sort of becomes a version of that mysterious videotape, especially highlighted by the intriguing last scene, where the devoted would be tempted to hit rewind just in case they missed something, like the movie's protagonists. That's basically why this film grabs you by the neck and never lets go... it's because you feel involved in a situation as disturbing as this. A perfectly calculated thriller, Haneke never disappoints.
I found this movie really easy to watch and very interesting. A few scenes were scary in a clever kind of way for example the glimpse of the child with blood on his face and then the scene with the rooster. The only thing negative about this film for me was i thought i understood the movie but the final scene with the son on the steps outside the school confused me and now i am wondering if i got the movie at all.
Negative half a star for the lack of a conclusion. It was an excellent movie through and through though. Excellent acting, a well thought out plot, and it of all things seemed spooky in theory and execution. I'm so glad they didn't turn it into a cheap horror film, but I guess that's the magic of Haneke. I recommend this, albeit it that it leaves a lot up to your imagination through the entirety of the movie.
Effective head-scratcher. Don't watch if you don't like clear-cut resolutions. A very deliberate, suspenseful movie with a creepy premise involving mysterious tapes of a couple's house, and then get more creepy from there. At turns frustrating, thought-provoking, and shocking, it's a well-done movie. Watching the interview with the director will help give you more context of the film if it leaves you a little confused as it did me.
A very subtle and yet disturbing film. Haneke does a great job in creating suspense in what could be (potentially) a plausible situation--not an everyday situation, but one that everyone can relate to.
To describe Caché is almost as difficult as watching and understanding the film itself. But the first thing to keep in mind is that Michael Haneke isn't exacly an entertainer. I knew that since La Pianiste, one of the most painfully depressing films I've seen to date, but perhaps most didn't. That must be the reason why so many people (who probably only watched it because of all the 'buzz' around it, of all the awards in Cannes) didn't quite get the brilliance of this film. That's why most of the comments I saw here, or the 3 star rating for that matter, doesn't surprise me at all. Those same people's only motivation watching it was to find out the 'whodunnit', who was the stalker, when the whole point of the film wasn't about the tapes! Of course Haneke creates that illusion, the illusion that the voyeur is the villain, the one terrorizing the couple. Is filming the outside of a house terror? Or did Georges Laurent saw in those tapes what he wanted to? What his repressed and hidden guilt told him to? Basically what Haneke does is to play with our minds, only giving us what he wants to. He is a master of mental manipulation...
So, Caché isn't something pre-programmed. It's what we see in it. Some saw a psychological thriller that desappointed them at the end, I saw a social critique, a uniquely/brilliantly shot, written and acted piece of cinema about guilt, paranoia, alienation, and about the impossibility of hidding from our past doings and our conscience. A film way ahead of its time!
Pretty good french film. The plot was very interesting, but I was still a little confused at the end. I would definately watch this again, maybe I'll understand it the second time through.
i really like michael haneke's work. he always tries to bring the most painful emotions to the light of day and he explores the human nature in a magnificent, dark and obscure way. caché has many hidden secrets and as a viewer, i think i will need to rewatch it to get a better opinion of it. but, so far, although i can't understand everything that took place on my screen, i did like what i saw. great performances by all the cast!
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