Caché (2005)

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

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke

Stars:

Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Bénichou

28 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Set in France, Georges is a TV Literary Reviewer and lives in a small yet modern town house with his wife Ann, a publisher and his young son Pierrot. They begin to receive video tapes through the post of their house and family, along side obscure child-like drawings. They visit the police with hope of aid to find the stalker, but as there is no direct threat, they refuse to help. As the tapes become more personal, Georges takes it upon himself to figure out who is putting through his family through such horror. A true Michael Haneke Classic.

---

Plot Keywords:

guilt | videotape | hidden camera | paris france | no music | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief strong violence

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

France Austria Germany Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

17 February 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caché (Hidden)

Filming Locations:

49 Rue Brillat-Savarin, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$925,023 (France), 7 October 2005

Opening Weekend USA:

$81,211, 25 December 2005, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,634,407, 30 April 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Losange, Wega Film, Bavaria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Voted "Best Film of the Noughties" by UK newspaper The Times.

---

Goofs

During the tape where Georges pulls up in his car and parks at night the headlights clearly cast a huge distinct shadow of the camera on the wall.

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

The opening credits appear over a shot of the husband and wife's house, but they appear one by one and in rows. By the time the credits are over they are all shown together, much like they would on a poster or in the credits section of a movie trailer.

---

Connections

References Open Water (2003)

User Reviews

It's not Paranoia, if they are watching you

Greetings again from the darkness. French films have a tradition of being filmed intimately, almost in a voyeuristic manner. Writer/Director Michael Haneke takes it a step further with a story about a family being watched. The idea is pretty creepy as Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche have videos dropped on their doorstep showing the almost total nonaction occurring right outside their front door. This puts quite a strain on their already passionless relationship.

The joy of a suspense story is assembling the clues and deciding what is and what is not vital to solving the mystery. Haneke does an admirable job of tossing clues and false trails on the viewer. The general consensus seems to be that if you somehow miss the last shot of the film, you can't solve it. In fact, that final shot merely reinforces what we have already been shown.

The blending of voyeurism, terrorism and revenge causes much stress for the two leads. Auteuil is solid in his role, but the lovely Ms. Binoche really shines in her much more emphatic turn as the wife and mother who begins to unravel as the men in her life seem to turn on her. Watching for details such as the TV newscasts, facial expressions and the timing of the appearance and disappearance of key characters will easily allow the viewer to solve the mystery, but it does not take away from the tension the situation creates.

This is a pretty solid thriller, but not in the class of Francois Ozon's "Swimming Pool" from a couple of years ago. Of course the topicality of technology makes "Cache" a bit more relevant at the moment.