trop Caché?

caché is a remarkably patient film that is more interested in toying with form and content than it is in unveiling a conventional narrative. this is not to say, however, that french filmmaker michael haneke has no reason to his rhyme: the film is surprisingly prescient in its observations about security, immigration, racism and diplomacy in relation to east/west conflict. in the film, daniel auteuil's george and his wife, juliette binoche's anne,receivee a series of videotapes, some hours in length, of static shots that document their apartment facade and, progressively, delve further into george's past.
SPOILER: George and Anne never discover who, in fact, sent the tapes; critics and audiences have opined that not revealing so is a major fault. i disagree, and cite chicago reader critic jonathan rosenbaum when he states that, "demanding a straight answer is as reductive as ascribing the film's purpose to any single notion when it has so much more to offer," namely, insight into the collective consciousness of french society.



daniel auteuil argues with a north-african bicyclist; they didn't see each other.





caché, which translates as "hidden," is meant as a comment on how french society refuses to address the proverbial elephant-in-the-living-room, e.g., immigration and integration. impoverished youth and, specifically, north africans feel disenfranchised: their unemployment levels are substantially higher than the general population and graduation rates are equally disproportionate.
ultimately, the mere existence of this inquietude is, while tolerable for the elite, a nagging threat to france's cultural sustainability. haneke's film is masterful in how it takes this disparity and uses cinema as an artifice to explore the vulnerable and, conversely, both disparate and desperate qualities of the french.

french youth watch a fire in the distance during the fall-2005 riots.

FFT highly recommends this film.