“Cache (hidden)” is a French psychological thriller that was directed by Michael Haneke. Of the films we have studied so far, this film stands out in many ways. The first thing I noticed was the fact that there is little to no non-diagetic sound through the entire film, which includes a score. This style definitely allowed for Haneke to play around with our expectations, as well as build suspense. A family living in France is being terrorized by a stalker who leaves video tapes of the family’s home. This alarms the Laurent’s and they begin to suspect who it may be. We learn that the main protagonist, Georges, has a hunch as to who it may be. His wife begins to question what he is hiding from her. As the story plays out, we learn that when Georges was six, his parents adopted an orphan named Majid whose parents used to work for them and were murdered in a massacre. Georges does not want to share his parent’s attention or his belongings to the new boy, and creates lies that ultimately find the orphan boy to be sent away to an orphanage.
The videos lead Georges to his old “brother” who swears he has nothing to do with the tapes. Things escalate and Georges becomes pathetically desperate as to how he handles the situation, which led me to believe that he may not be a good man. Majid calls Georges to come back to his apartment after he was falsely accused to kidnapping Georges’ son. Majid says “I wanted you to witness this” and slits his throat. The next day, Georges is confronted by Majid’s son, who wanted to speak with him to see how a man acts with a guilty conscience. During the credit roll, we see Majid’s son talking to Georges’ son after school.
The plot was intense, even with a lack of music. The suspense build from the “camera” (the one within the film) was very well done. There are points in time where minutes go by of just a street with cars driving by; causing the viewer to fill with anxiety as they wait to see what unfolds. The plot is left open to interpretation and (for me) definitely requires a second watch to find all of the “hidden” clues left behind that may lead me to draw a conclusion as to who was leaving the tapes and why. The ending I had to watch over 3 times before noticing Haneke’s intent for the school steps. Majid’s son is conversing with Georges’ son discreetly at the bottom right corner of the screen, leading me to believe that the likely “stalker” was him all along. This conclusion however has holes in it which need to be supported by finding more clues.
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