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Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Lester Makedonsky, Maurice Bénichou, Annie Girardot ... see more see more... , Bernard Le Coq , Daniel Duval , Nathalie Richard , Denis Podalydès , Aïssa Maïga , Caroline Baehr , Walid Afkir

Paranoia grips a bourgeois European family when a series of menacing videotapes begin turning up on their doorstep in Piano Teacher director Michael Haneke's dark drama. From the outside, Georges (Dan... read more read more...iel Auteuil), Anne (Juliette Binoche), and son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky) are the typical middle-class European family, but when a series of mysterious videotapes accompanied by morbid drawings reveal that someone has been monitoring their house, Georges begins to suspect that his past has come back to haunt him. It was during France's occupation of Algeria that Georges wronged a young Algerian boy named Majid (Maurice Bénichou), and as the enraged father and husband begins tracking down his former friend, the line between victim and predator becomes increasingly blurred. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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71% liked it

48,849 ratings

Critics

88% liked it

130 critics

R, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Michael Haneke

Release Date: December 23, 2005

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DVD Release Date: June 27, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (2,713)

  • danperry17
    January 30, 2012
    danperry17
    The film opens with one of the more daring static shots you'll ever see, a couple of solid minutes of footage of the protagonists' house, and people coming and going, passing by, and - of course, this is Haneke - a moment where the tape is rewound to remind you that you are watch... read moreing a movie. In come the voices of Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche, who we learn are watching this tape that has been sent to them. Here begins the story, in which more mysterious packages arrrive, all seemingly with the goal of getting through the exterior of their happy, consumer-society life to reveal that which is... wait for it... hidden. By degrees, the film reveals more pieces from one character's past - who struggles with how much of it to tell to the other charcter - and it sets up misdirects along the way, too, before closing with a final shot that - were it not for the 20+-minute interview on with Haneke in the DVD's special features - I might have interpreted totally differently: there's an element that apparently, only half the viewers notice, and the interpretation of the film comes out differently as a result. Hard to go into much more detail with this film without ruining the intrigue, but suffice to say, it has all the calling cards of the classic psychological thriller, and that it's one of the more intellectually accomplished films you will see in the way that it succeeds in leaving everything open to interpretation, and questioning constantly what is in the open and what is... once more?... hidden. Fantastic film. This is my third Haneke (Funny Games; The White Ribbon), and I'm learning that I've really been missing out.
  • cosmo313
    November 20, 2011
    cosmo313
    Ah Michael Haneke, we meet again. This time around, Haneke delivers a film about a Parisian family whose quiet and rather mundane existance is disturbed by the arrival of videotapes of their home, as well as some menacing drawings, all of them sent by an anonymous sender for seem... read moreingly unkniwn reasons. There are some theories as to who is sending them, and why, but the answers aren't really the focus.

    The film is mainly interested in examinging guilt and paranoia, and the effects they can have, whether they are really justified or not. It's a very interesting concept, and the film gives some pretty good food for thought. It has a heavy Twilight Zone vibe to it, as well as some similar stuff that was used previously in David Lynch's Lost Highway.

    I guess you could call this a thriller, but not really a whole lot happens, and yet, the film is still somehow very creepy and unsettling, like the bulk of Haneke's work. Also like them, this employs his trademark use of no soundtrack, lengthy static shots and long takes, usually with a point, instead of just being hollow displays of flashiness.

    I did like this movie, but I'm torn between the rating I've given it and a half star more. On one hand, the film is intriguing and thought provoking, and I like the style and techniques at hand, on the other, the film is rather maddening in that it's not for all tastes, and will drive some people nuts because of it's deliberate pace and open-ended nature. Some might like how it ends, others will hate it. I'm not sure what I think of it yet.

    If you want to see something that is oozing with artistic craft, and makes the oridnary eeire, and also makes you work instead of just spoon feeding you everything, then give this one a go. If not, then find something else to watch.
  • SirPant
    March 28, 2011
    SirPant
    Hitchcock once said that it's not the bang that is important but rather the anticipation of it that is. With Hidden, Haneke is obviously in agreement and his admiration for the late director shows. What Haneke brings to the table is just as good though, and that's that it doesn't... read more matter 'who done it', it is why they have done it that is important. Maybe not a new idea but Haneke's film is very unique. It is unsettling to say the least but subtle where it counts. A truly great film, a very modern classic. It seems that much like Haneke himself, this film is either loved or hated, I can't help but think a lot of people actually missed what happened in the end just as the credits start to role. It may need second a viewing.
  • JonathanHutchings
    February 26, 2011
    JonathanHutchings
    Michael Haneke's brilliant, challenging masterpiece begins with an outstanding solitary opening shot. At first it looks like a well framed long shot; then, he lets it linger for a while and you might think it's a POV shot. Is someone spying on the house in the center of the frame... read more? Then, you realize it's a prerecorded videotape. The seamless integration of those three readings of one shot perfectly sets the stage for a thoughtful mediation on voyeurism and the age-old self-reflexive idea of the viewer being an active participant in the process by "watching."

    Then, Cache becomes a clinical, psychological and social study of a respectable individual in European society. Then, it morphs into a study of a larger contemporary European segment of its population. We start seeing themes of guilt and social responsibility develop, and we find out that a central character has a shaky past that correlates with the Paris massacre of 1961 (this is a Haneke film, after all). Then the film ends with a great, ambiguous medium static shot of a high school that will make you think for hours hence. But be careful: if you think too much about the plot, about "whodunit," you're missing the point. Sure, those things are fascinating to think about, and Haneke gives you plenty of clues to chew on (hell, even Ebert famously wrote about these clues), but the story is really a Macguffin about something much deeper -- which is Haneke's bold genius at work. This is his indictment of French bourgeois culture, and how we "hide" ourselves from the mistakes and despicable things we do. We avoid accountability at all costs. Georges' (Daniel Auteuil) final moments are directly symbolic of that.

    Put it this way: everyone wants to know who sent the tapes. Haneke, when pressed with this question, slyly answered, "It was definitely one of the characters." He's absolutely right. It was him. He delivered a tape to France called "Cache" (hidden), so its citizens can hold the mirror up to their collective faces. It's a coy Brechtian clue, and a fantastic piece of self-reflexivity.
  • flixsterman
    October 10, 2010
    flixsterman
    Michael Haneke's visual proclamation that 'truth' and 'reality' are both relative terms. I truly enjoyed this film but I'm finding it rather difficult to explain why. I suppose it's simply a matter of perception. Caché
  • RCCLBC
    January 21, 2010
    RCCLBC
    There is some great work here, from both the director and the actors involved. Though I think that this may be a little too "subtle" for some viewers to really appreciate.

    In fact I was completely confused after first seeing it. It wasn't until I had some time to process it t... read morehat it "came together" for me. And even now, I feel that it is flawed in several ways. Here are three of them.

    First, I can't help but feel that if Georges (and his family) were perhaps a little less likable, the premise might have been a bit more powerful. I think we were meant to feel like they were a little snobby, but I didn?t feel that way/

    Second, I ended up feeling like the fact that he was being tormented for what was a essentially a stupid (and cruel) childhood prank that any good parent should have been able to figure out and rectify, made for a weak crux for the story.

    Third, if there had been no drawings accompanying the mysterious video tapes and it was only Georges guilt that lead him back to Majid and that unfortunate childhood event, it would make the final shot of the film much more powerful and very thought provoking.
  • fb619846742
    November 6, 2009
    fb619846742
    A very well-acted, nonetheless disappointing psychological thriller in which a family is terrorized by an anonymous stalker, who leaves violent drawings and video tapes consisting of following his victims around, at their doorstep. Haneke inserts many of his calling cards here, s... read moreuch as prolonged scenes, a tense atmosphere, sudden acts of violence, and ultimately, an anti-ending. This formula worked wonders in his heavily underrated near-masterpiece, "Funny Games" (US Version), however, it doesn't work as well here. The slow burn exercise he puts his viewers through doesn't completely prove rewarding, as he ends on a giant cliffhanger while not really explaining many of the questions the family, and viewer, still have. As far as performances go, Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche are pitch-perfect, and they do a good job showing different sides to their characters. To me however, I just felt an overwhelming amount of dissatisfaction with the conclusion of the story, it felt very incomplete.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    September 2, 2009
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "I wanted you to be present..."

    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.

    REVIEW

    Gripping y... read moreet subtle thriller that brings back the eerie joy in voyeurism through film. Adding his own paranoid vision to the classic detached cinematography, Michael Haneke spins a misunderstood web of class struggle, emotional repression, and stalker fear in the guise of this slow but effective whodunit. Though not the masterpiece some may claim this bold film to be, Cache effectively puts you into the increasingly tense atmosphere dealing with this French couple's mysterious "watcher". Many viewers might be turned off by the movie's indecision to make up it's entire mind for us, although the writer incorporates enough social and psychological insight to make the main plot take a back seat to the underlying themes that represent what is truly "hidden".
  • MovieGeek13
    March 19, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    Cache is full of amazing yet subtle moments and it fully requires audience participation.
  • gor41
    December 21, 2008
    gor41
    Tense and unsettling tale of the past catching up with you, with a nicely ambiguous ending. Little happens or is resolved which can be off putting. Certainly an enigma if not terrifically enjoyable.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
February 24, 2006
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

This French film (in bad, washed-out English subtitles) is a quiet chiller. A family's social fabric unravels right before our eyes. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
February 17, 2006
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Caché encourages us to look -- and then to look harder.

Lisa Kennedy
February 17, 2006
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Contrarian that he is, Haneke does a much finer job forcing questions than providing an answer. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
February 10, 2006
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Haneke's patient, tip-toed assault turns Caché from a little movie about spooked haute-bourgeois media personalities into a sneaky and effective exposé on the artifice of film. Full Review

Terry Lawson
February 10, 2006
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

One thing that cannot be argued is Haneke's ability to attract the best actors in cinema, perhaps by promising to take them places they have never been. Full Review

Colin Covert
February 9, 2006
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Haneke's characters are never easy to like, yet it's impossible not to empathize with their anxiety. It's his mastery of the craft, both visual and sonic, that pulls viewers along in its grip. Full Review

Richard Nilsen
February 9, 2006
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic

This is a film you will be discussing for days, trying to figure out what actually happened and why. Full Review

Kevin Lee
February 4, 2006
Kevin Lee, Chicago Reader

Caché is about how the way we look at people -- a spouse, a child, a homeless person, a security guard -- reflects our own humanity, exactly the sort of thing the best works of cinematic art aspire to... Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
February 4, 2006
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Politicized as it is, the movie never becomes didactic, thanks to the excellent acting and the firm, confident direction. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 17, 2006
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

While Caché offers food for thought, the last third is muddled. Full Review

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Cache (Hidden) Trivia

  • Michael Haneke, director of the critically acclaimed 2005 thriller Cache (Hidden), also directed the post-apolcalyptic 2003 drama Time of the Wolf, which starred this actress:  Answer »
  • Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney star in this action adventure, from 1999, that takes place at the end of the Gulf War. Four US soldiers search for a hidden cache of gold.   Answer »
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