Caché (2005)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

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 videotapes planted on its front porch that may be the direct result from an event from years ago.

Plot Keywords:

Drawing | Paris | Videotape | Algerian | Childhood

Awards:

21 wins & 22 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
Andrew Colton	....	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
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
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
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

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)
• Studio Canal (participation)
• Östereichisches Filminstitut (participation)
• Filmfonds Wien (participation)
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (participation)
• Uphill Pictures

Distributors

• First Distributors (2005) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• 1More Film (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Alfa Films (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Amazonia Films (2005-2012) (Venezuela) (all media)
• 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)
• California Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (all media)
• Canvas (2009) (Belgium) (TV)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• EuroVideo (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Festive Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005-2006) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD)
• Intersonic (2006) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• Les Films du Losange (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2006) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Mongrel Media (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  publicity
• Listo Video  post-production

Also Known As:

Hidden (International: English title) (UK)
Niente da nascondere (Italy)
Caché - Escondido (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Dolt hot (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Скрытое (Russia) [ru]
Caché (Brazil) [pt]
El observador oculto (Mexico) [es]
Kätketty (Finland) [fi]
Krymmenos (Greece) [el]
Nada a Esconder (Portugal) (DVD box title) [pt]
Rejtély (Hungary) [hu]
Sakli (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Skriveno (Serbia) [sr]
Ukryte (Poland) [pl]

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:

Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | 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 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Les Films du Losange

Trivia:

In the scene right after the main character leaves Hajid's apartment and hides in a movie theater we can see posters of several European successful films. One of them is "La mala educación" by Pedro Almodóvar, another one is "Les choristes" (2004) directed by Christophe Barratier.

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.

Movie Connections:

References Open Water (2003)

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.