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

27 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.

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Plot Keywords:

guilt | videotape | hidden camera | paris france | deception | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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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

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

This film was the official submission of Austria for the Academy Awards in the 'Best Foreign-Language Film' category, but was disqualified then because it was not "predominantly shot in the official language of the submitting country," but rather in French. The controversy that ensued over that - as well as the virtually simultaneous disqualification of Italy's submission of the Arabic- and Hebrew-language film Private (2004) - prompted the foreign language committee to enact a rule change the following year that made any language acceptable in a foreign language submission - hence Canada's submission of a Hindi-language film in 2007 (Water (2005)) and Australia's of a German-language film in 2012 (Lore (2012)). Any language, that is, except English.

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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.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

Silent credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Split (2016)

User Reviews

Disturbing, Stunning, Daring and Dark

Michael Haneke the austere Austrian director of such critically acclaimed films as "Funny Games", "Code Unknown" and "The Piano Teacher" has created in "Caché" (Hidden) his finest film to date.

Starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche the film is a taut and tense personal thriller, which examines important subjects such as guilt and responsibility in the context of western comfort.

Georges and Anne are a happily married middle class couple who both work in the arts. The balance of their lives is suddenly disturbed when they begin to receive video cassettes seemingly surveying the exterior of their home. Anne is quite dismissive of the tape but immediately Georges believes there is a sinister element to the tape. Soon they receive more tapes and disturbing drawings. As Georges fears for the safety of his family he suddenly has to confront his past and allow his wife to learn the hidden secrets of his past.

Haneke's film plays on one level like a common thriller, but it has much deeper psychological echoes as the "hero" George is revealed not to be quite the upstanding family man his family believed him to be. As his wife struggles to come to terms with the revelations their entire comfortable existence disintegrates.

Haneke is not just interested in creating a thriller however and the auteur expertly dissects George and Annes bourgeois life and implicates them both in the treatment by western culture of the east and the third world.

Acting in the film is terrific. Daniel Auteuil is simply excellent in his role, the actor manages to explore his character enough to make us forget it is a portrayal. Juliette Binoche as his wife initially seems not to be at the center of the film, but the stunning actress manages to place herself at the emotional center of the film as the wife and mother.

Expert supporting roles are provided by Maurice Benichiou, Annie Girardot and Nathalie Richard among others.

"Caché" is at once an intriguing thriller and a wonderful examination of guilt and responsibility in a very modern context.