In "Cache," director Michael Haneke does an amazing job of creating a mysterious world that sucks you in, not to entertain, but to force thought and anxiousness. The English translation of the title, "Hidden," is pertinent because the audience is always searching for a meaning, for a sign, for the answers to what is happening within the movie.
"Cache" opens with more than five minutes of surveillance tape of Georges and Anne's (Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche) home. Is it a joke? Is it for real? Is it meant to torment them?
Georges hosts a television book review roundtable and Anne is in publishing. They have a son, Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky), who is in the beginning stages of puberty. They seem to be living above-average lifestyle.
More tapes and other items from the "tormentor" come quickly. The other items are what become the most disturbing for the family. There are crude drawings of a boy and of a rooster both with deep red blood spewing from them -- from the boy's mouth and from the rooster's neck.
The police are of no help -- it is not until the threat is actualized that then they can step in.
Georges starts to realize these are messages specifically for him. They are reminiscent of a childhood rivalry between him and servant boy, Majid. Granted, Georges was 6 at the time, upset that he may be getting a brother he never wanted. The rivalry ended with Majid being sent away because of something Georges did.
Could the torment be coming from a need for a revenge? The tapes start directing Georges towards talking with the adult Majid (Maurice Benichou). The result of their conversation doesn't make the torment stop, Majid denies knowing anything about the tapes.
Georges is still convinced that Majid has something to do with the situation. All the signs are pointing to him. Even when a bout of teenage rebellion occurs -- Pierrot doesn't come home one night -- Majid is automatically blamed.
The entire movie culminates with an extremely shocking scene, but the movie doesn't stop at that point. It keeps going, generating more unanswered questions, and nothing seems to be resolved.
Haneke seems to beg the question of who is actually doing the terrorizing? Georges gets a few tapes, but then he goes and threatens Majid and even gets him arrested. It becomes an upper-class versus lower-class type of battle.
Despite a complicated and heavy plot, Haneke focuses his film style on minimalism, even going so far as to exclude music. Being devoid of music, the audience is left with that feeling of general uneasiness throughout the film -- an uneasiness that continues even after the movie ends.
"Cache" opens Friday, March 10 at the Landmark's Downer Theater.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
