Cache (Hidden)

Cache by Michael Haneke is categorized as a psychological thriller. Its a film with that touches on a common fear which is being watched by an unknown person. Nobody would like to be stalked and terrorized how the Laurents were. The film opened with a still shot of the Laurent home which I found unnerving. The reason is because it was uncomfortably long especially since it turned out to be from the tape that was sent to them in the beginning of the film. It reminded me of Rear Window but it felt more sinister and it was. It looked like the film was doing to be a straight to the point fillm about the stalking of a family but there were a lot of layers. The tapes gradually started to get more intrusive and the accompanying drawings too.

Georges is a character that represents France’s refusal to take responsibility of the massacre of 1961. Both did not want to publicly acknowledge what they did wrong. Both would have rathered to keep it in the past. The only reason why Georges even remembered Majid was because of the tapes. Before that he was comfortable in his home with a successful career. Georges feels extremely guilty for being the reason why Majid couldn’t be adopted in his family. Majid was betrayed twice by the government for killing his parents and by Georges for denying him the chance of another family.

The scene that impacted me the most was the one with the attempted decapitation of the chicken. I didn’t expect it to be so violent. I just felt bad for the poor chicken during it’s last moments alive.

There is a lot of theories about who was involved in sending the tapes. I don’t think it was Majid. It was probably his son since he is angry at Georges for how his dad suffered because Majid was forced to live in an orphanage without a chance for a proper home and education. In the ending we see the son and Pierrot meeting up afterschool. He probably used Pierrot to send the tapes but then again the ending lingers on the same shot implying that they were being observed by someone else.