Caché (Hidden) (2005) Caché (original title)

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 October 2005 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A married couple is terrorized by a series of surveillance videotapes left on their front porch.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Drawing | Dream | Threat | Dinner

Awards:

22 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Daniel Auteuil	...	Georges Laurent
Juliette Binoche	...	Anne Laurent
Maurice Bénichou	...	Majid
Annie Girardot	...	Georges's Mom
Bernard Le Coq	...	Georges's Editor-In-Chief
Walid Afkir	...	Majid's Son
Lester Makedonsky	...	Pierrot Laurent
Daniel Duval	...	Pierre
Nathalie Richard	...	Mathilde
Denis Podalydès	...	Yvon
Aïssa Maïga	...	Chantal
Caroline Baehr	...	Nurse
Christian Benedetti	...	Georges's Father
Philippe Besson	...	TV Guest
Loic Brabant	...	Police Officer No. 2 (as Loïc Brabant)
Jean-Jacques Brochier	...	TV Guest
Paule Daré	...	The Orphanage Attendant
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing	...	Bookstore Owner
Annette Faure	...	Georges's Mother, Young
Hugo Flamigni	...	Georges as a Child
Peter Stephan Jungk	...	Writer
Dioucounda Koma	...	Cyclist (as Diouc Koma)
Marie Kremer	...	Jeannette
Nicky Marbot	...	The Orphanage Driver
Malik Nait Djoudi	...	Majid as a Child
Marie-Christine Orry	...	Housekeeper
Mazarine Pingeot	...	TV Guest
Julie Recoing	...	Georges's Assistant
Karla Suarez	...	Novelist
Laurent Suire	...	Police Officer No. 1
Jean Teulé	...	TV Guest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Barbara Contini	...	Herself (archive footage)
François Négret	...	Man in elevator (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Haneke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Haneke		screenplay

Produced by
Michael André	....	associate producer
Rémi Burah	....	co-producer
Andrew Colton	....	executive producer
Valerio De Paolis	....	co-producer
Veit Heiduschka	....	producer
Michael Katz	....	executive producer
Margaret Ménégoz	....	executive producer
Michael Weber	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Christian Berger

Film Editing by
Michael Hudecek
Nadine Muse

Casting by
Colomba Falcucci
Kris Portier de Bellair

Production Design by
Emmanuel de Chauvigny
Christoph Kanter

Costume Design by
Lisy Christl

Makeup Department
Laurent Bozzi	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gregory Bruneau	....	assistant unit manager
David Crenn	....	assistant unit manager
Sébastien Delepine	....	unit manager trainee
Brigitte Faure	....	production manager
Emmanuelle Jacobson-Roques	....	unit manager trainee
Grégory Valais	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alain Olivieri	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Carine Demongueres	....	assistant art director
Jérémy Duchier	....	set dresser
Peter Ecker	....	property master: Austria
Yannick Heuveline	....	assistant decorator
Katrin Huber	....	props: Austria
Christoph Kanter	....	production designer: Austria
Thomas Pitre	....	property master
Teresa Prothmann	....	art department assistant
Arnaud Roth	....	first assistant decorator
Hans Wagner	....	set decorator: Austria
Wouter Zoon	....	property master

Sound Department
Frank Ceven	....	assistant foley artist (as Franck Ceven)
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound editor
Mathias Maydl	....	sound re-recordist
Antoine Mercier	....	daily boom operator
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	production sound mixer
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	sound
Yves-Marie Omnes	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Philippe Hubin	....	special effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Emmanuel Aubry	....	lighting grip
Gabriele Buti	....	assistant camera: HDTV camera
Xavier Embry	....	best boy grip
Gerald Helf	....	first assistant camera
Natascha Neulinger	....	lighting technician
Marion Stalens	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Tess Hammami	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Alarich Lenz	....	assistant editor
Soazic Veillon	....	assistant editor
Willi Willinger	....	colorist

Other crew
Richard Lormand	....	publicist: international
Lina Martins	....	assistant: Juliette Binoche
Tosé Riesser	....	production assistant
Kristy Ryan	....	promotions manager: Australia

Production Companies

• Les Films du Losange
• Wega Film
• Bavaria Film (co-production)
• BIM Distribuzione (co-production)
• France 3 Cinéma (participation)
• arte France Cinéma (participation)
• Eurimages (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Canal+ (participation)
• ORF Film/Fernseh-Abkommen (participation)
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) (participation)
• StudioCanal (participation)
• Österreichisches Filminstitut (participation)
• Filmfonds Wien (participation)
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (participation)

Distributors

• First Distributors (2005) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• 1More Film (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Artificial Eye (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Buenavista Columbia Tri Star Films de Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V.' (2006) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Festive Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005-2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Intersonic (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Les Films du Losange (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Amazonia Films (2005-2012) (Venezuela) (all media)
• California Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Canvas (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• EuroVideo (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2006) (Italy) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep (VPRO) (2009) (Netherlands) (TV)

Other Companies

• ARRI Sound  sound re-recording
• Falco Ink.  publicity
• LISTO Videofilm  post-production

Also Known As:

"Caché" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for brief strong violence

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

France | Austria | Germany | Italy | USA

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:15 | Brazil:16 | UK:15 | Czech Republic:15 | Norway:15 | Ireland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Netherlands:16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Germany:12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | Japan:PG-12 | Australia:MA | Hungary:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

49 Rue Brillat-Savarin, Paris, France

Company:

Les Films du Losange

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Michael Haneke] [character name]Daniel Auteuil's character is named Georges Laurent.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening scene we see the Laurent residence from a stationary camera. Three roses are visible in a window box on the left. In the same setting late in the film after much passage of time, the roses are unchanged and in the same positions.

Quotes:

Georges Laurent:Isn't it lonely, if you can't go out?
Georges's Mom:Why? Are you less lonely because you can sit in the garden? Do you feel less lonely in the metro than at home? Well then! Anyway, I have my family friend... with remote control. Whenever they annoy me, I just shut them up.

Movie Connections:

References The Chorus (2004)

Candid camera

Out of France comes one of the most satisfying films in a while. "Cache" is a film that will, if nothing else, make the viewer think about what he is watching on the screen. Is it real, or is it Georges' conscience coming to grips with the injustice he played on Majid, the poor Algerian orphan whose parents were killed tragically a few years before?

Michael Haneke's direction has a way to make us accomplices in watching what is happening to Georges and his family. Mr. Haneke shows us images that are disturbing, but in the context of the film work well with the mystery he has created. After all, we are being shown videos taken of Anne and Georges' house by a hidden camera that is nowhere in sight? How are these tapes are being filmed? They all point out to the guilt that is consuming this successful Georges, whose actions have caused a lot of pain to an innocent boy that needed compassion. There are also political implications in the film as it points out to the conflict with Algeria of the sixties. The French are not exempt from the racism and injustice they caused in the past.

The key to understanding this movie is to pay attention carefully to all the clues one is given in the film. The ending scenes reveal a lot of what one keeps suspecting throughout the movie. It also points out how Georges, after many years of living with a terrible burden, comes to be reminded of the harm he caused.

Daniel Auteuil makes the film more enjoyable. This actor goes from being a television celebrity into a man whose confidence begins to betray him. Mr. Auteuil is probably the main reason for seeing the film because he is registering everything that is going on and reacting in the way Georges would without conveying to us he is that man in turmoil on the screen. This is one of his best achievements in the cinema.

Juliette Binoche, on the other hand, doesn't have as much to do in the movie. Yes, her Anne is compassionate and loyal, but is she all we think she is, or is she having an affair with another man? Let the viewer arrive at his own conclusion, which by the way, Mr. Haneke seems to be doing the same to us, the viewers.

Maurice Benichou and Walid Afkir play Majid and his son. Lester Makedonsky is seen as Pierrot, the young boy who seems to play a larger role in the mystery that is happening at home. The great Annie Girardot appears briefly as Georges' mother, who is confined to her home. Ms. Girardot is equally evasive when her son tells her about his dreams about Majid, the boy she would have adopted, had not Georges' tricks entered the picture.

All in all, "Cache", will stay in our imagination for some time to come. The brilliant cinematography of Christian Berger contributes to our enjoyment. Michael Haneke directed with tremendous panache this thoroughly compelling movie.