Cache (Hidden)

Yesterday I watched Cache (Hidden) (2005), a French film about a successful family being stalked by a mysterious person. The film stars Daniel Auteli (Girl on the Bridge) and Juliette Binoche (has appeared in several great films since the late 80's) as a couple that are professionally successful but are bored with their marriage. Together they raise their typically petulant teenage son. The mystery starts with them receiving video tapes showing surveillance on their home wrapped in childlike pictures of a boy throwing up blood. The pictures start being sent to their work and schools as well as more videotapes and phone calls. The pictures and calls begin to point to something in Auteli's past.

Cache hangs together well as a mystery, dolling out little bits of information while maintaining a feeling of dread. The movie builds the tension through strong performances by Auteli and Binoche as rational adults at their wits end and extended shots of locations (schools, homes) filmed from a distance with no obvious reason at times. The movie treats the audience as following the proverbial carrot on a stick, I found myself straining to see what was happening on screen and rewinding dialogue to figure out what was happening. As a mystery, it's well planned and executed but ultimately unrewarding at that level. In fact, when the antagonist was revealed I thought it was a bit silly compared to the tension the film built up beforehand.

But, the movie isn't really about the mystery. A mystery that's not a mystery...that's a new one. The movie is really about how the mystery brings out the secrets of these people, the hidden side of people that on the surface are perfect examples of upper middle class happiness. On this level, the movie surpasses expectations as the characters come to life in realistic and relateable ways. I felt for these characters as people and liked how the mystery plot device was used to show how these characters felt about their lives. Along the lines of say Muholland Drive or Memento, the movie brings up enough cliches to hook you and then ditches them in favor of something new. Good stuff!