Caché (2005)

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 | Police | Friend | Videotape | Guilt

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
Michael André	....	associate producer
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
Wouter Zoon	....	property master

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

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  publicity
• LISTO Videofilm  post-production

Also Known As:

Hidden (International: English title) (UK)
Niente da nascondere (Italy)

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

Voted "Best Film of the Noughties" by UK newspaper The Times.

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 La mala educación (2004)

Reflective probing of hidden guilt, but definitely not top-notch cinema

Michael Haneke's film begins as a clinical, psychological and social study of a respectable individual in European society. It ends as a study of a larger contemporary European segment of its population. It reminds one of the early works of Fassbinder—only Haneke's production values are more sophisticated. The camera becomes a character—a major one at that. This reminds the viewer that he is watching cinema at several junctures and that s/he is part of the communication/entertainment process. It makes you constantly ponder if the cinema you are watching is providing truth or lies (or something in between) 24 frames per second. The fixed-medium range shots that opens and closes the film indicate the view and mood of the director--clinical, somewhat distanced and unshaken by the story he unfolds. We also notice that what we are seeing, might not be what we think we are seeing. Antonioni did this to us in "Blow up" several decades ago.

After the screening at the on-going Dubai film festival, I was amused at the director carefully distancing himself from a situation where he could have resolved the issues—-he prefers to leave it to the viewer to do so. In a way the entertainment continues after the screening if you choose to reflect on what you saw.

At the obvious level, it is a study of colonial guilt of Europe and race relations. At a deeper level, it probes complacency and bourgeois temperaments of the financially secure classes in society. Escape from reality comes from closing curtains, shutting off the outside world and consuming sleeping tablets. At another level, the film explores the attitudes of three distinct generations towards social relationships.

Haneke uses graphic shocking violent scenes to jolt the audiences when they least expect it. He seems to enjoy the process. His strength is not in his cinema (Kubrick, in comparison, was brilliant at this game). Hanneke's strength lies elsewhere—eliciting fascinating performances from his cast. Daniel Auteuil, Julliette Binoche, Maurice Benichou and Annie Girardot were simply fascinating to watch.

The strength of the film lies in the subject that will disturb anyone. Many of us have something in our past that we wish to hide or not discuss. Yet there is a conscience in us that nags us to believe that there was a witness to that wrongdoing--a witness who cannot be buttonholed. It is this psychological fact that makes the film tick, much less its cinematic flourish.