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Caché
Directed by: Michael Haneke
Starring: Daniel Auteuil
Genre:
Foreign
Run Time: 117
min.
Release Date:
January 2006
On The Web:
Official
Site
Teaser:
Movie Trailer
Reviewed by
Byron Merritt |
There's a few things to
like about this film and quite a few to dislike. Cache (in French) means
"hidden", and it's an apt analogy on multiple levels. But the levels
collapse under their own dramatic weight, leaving the viewer scratching
their heads more than pondering the movie's significance.
The story focuses on husband and wife Georges (Daniel Auteuil) and Ann (Juliette
Binoche, CHOCOLAT), a happily married couple who's lives are about to
unwind. In front of their home, they find a videotape. The tape shows a
fairly stagnant view of the front of their home; their comings and
goings. But it's also a bit unnerving. Who would shoot this film and
why? Eventually more tapes show up on their doorstep, only now they're
wrapped in paper on which is drawn — childlike — very disturbing
caricatures of a face with blood shooting out of its mouth. Georges
begins to feel that some of this may be linked to his past, but keeps it
hidden from his wife, thus causing a rift to develop.
We occasionally flashback to Georges childhood when he was six. Here we
learn that a young Algerian boy and his family were once a part of
Georges and his parents' lives. But tragedy struck the Algerian boy's
parents and Georges, somewhat of a spoiled brat, ruins what's left of
the Algerian boy's young life.
More tapes show up and Georges is led to a now full-grown Algerian man's
home, the same man whom Georges helped evict from his life. Guilt
settles in heavily for Georges and we watch him being torn apart by
childhood memories long forgotten.
The story sounds more appealing than it is. It certainly got my
attention when I read about it. But watching it is pretty tough. The
pacing is agonizingly slow, showing slow passing cars, minutes upon
minutes of mundane material, and a plot that seems to lead nowhere.
Initially I thought this might be some sort of murder mystery or
psychological thriller. But no. It's all about childhood guilt and how
one man deals with it later on in life. I actually didn't even
understand it was about guilt until I watched the extra features on the
DVD just to find out what the hell was supposed to be going on; I think
that says a lot about how far afield the story strayed (I consider
myself a fairly astute viewer).
The good parts of the film are its innate quirks. Sometimes you're
watching the movie and you aren't sure if its part of the movie or part
of a videotape within the movie. That was kinda cool. The dark scenes in
the bedroom as Georges and Ann come to terms with what Georges did to
the Algerian boy are filmed extremely well, too. That acting is also
well done and never forced, adding a bit or emotional heft to a rather
bland telling. But that's as far as the "good" goes.
And, as they say, the rest is silence.
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Image from
Caché
DVD cost: $14.99
Purchase:
BestPrices.com
Film Review Stew
Favorite?
No.
Stew Poo-Poo? No.
Newsworthy:
A poster for "Ma Mere"
starring Isabelle Huppert, star of Haneke's "The Piano Teacher" can be
seen outside a movie theater.
Movie Quote: "The
tape runs for more than 2 hours."
Other Actors/Actresses
from
Caché
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