Cache (Hidden) (2005) is about a middle aged Parisian couple, Georges and Laurent who find a couple of tapes at their front door. The tapes show surveillance of the exterior of their house. They get extremely distressed and gradually realise that the sender of the tapes may be someone from Georges’ past.

I loved the way Michael Haneke has told the story. This thriller is not supposed to entertain you, it’s supposed to make you think. It breaks down the life of this couple and examines how the western first world countries have been bad to the Eastern countries. The mystery of the tape sender is not even the main plot and we are not given a resolution even in the end. Haneke has used this mystery as a catalyst to talk about the themes of guilt, and the ill effects of French imperialism. He has shown how a man who’s done questionable things in the past is not even aware of the fact that he’s in the wrong. We see how his conscience is affected by the guilt that he carries. Here this man, Georges symbolises the people of the first world countries. This film gives a lot of food for thought and there is a lot to talk about.

The script is really nuanced and it’s great the way Haneke has hinted at things. I was really impressed by how he’s used the camera to often indicate things. The way, Haneke has fleshed out the lead character is also very subtle. There’s a scene in the first twenty minutes that you would think is not all that important, but in retrospect, you would realise that it actually establishes a lot about the character. Only a few great filmmakers like Haneke can add depth in these subtle manners. A lot of things are kept ambiguous, so this film would take MANY viewings to fully grasp everything. This is an extremely intricate film that’ll reward you with new details on every viewing.

No film has affected me the way Cache did. It’s a film that shows how powerful the medium of cinema can be. Films like Cache remind me why I love this art form so much. It’s filmmaking at it’s finest