Caché

The family of Georges (Daniel Auteuil), Anne (Binoche Juliette) and Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky), apparently, has it all figured out. The father is a successful television presenter on a program of literary reviews; the mother a book editor and a housewife and the only son is twelve years old and attends school like any other kid. Everything fits the ideal parameters of a French upper middle class family.

But suddenly, from nowhere, without explanation, some home videos begin arriving home accompanied with disturbing children-style drawings that show that someone is watching them and knows them very well. The cold harmony is broken and fear breaks.

Georges’s buried childhood memories return with a load of overwhelming guilt, that accompanies the unresolved conflicts. And in that moment the debacle begins. Georges, driven by arrogance and fear lurches, threatens, accuses, abuses and is incapable of any gesture, of any conversation.

"Caché" is silent, it takes its tame from long shots, not always letting us know if we are watching the daily lives of the protagonists or the videos that come to unbalance the family life. The threat comes from outside.

The detailed construction of "correct" certainties, the desired and sometimes shameful peace, the distant lives as partners, the aseptic and family protocols do not always withstand the pressure. For Georges and Anne, along with the videos uncovering the truth, a deep distrust and shameful burden came along, isolating them and gagging them at the same time.

Movies like this remind us that Western societies, where success is the only thing, dehumanize and leave no space or time for catharsis, for confessing the unspeakable and for really knowing people with whom we interact and, as in this case, share a bed.

Director: Michael Haneke

Writer: Michael Haneke (screenplay)

Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche and Maurice Bénichou