What’s in your Caché?
Opening scene from Michael Haneke’s film Caché, 35mm, 2005
I don’t ever rave about the movies I’ve seen unless I feel they are somewhat relevant to the current state of things. Such is the case with Michael Haneke’s latest film Caché (official site). From the start the film comes across as being an intimate window into the life of a somewhat ordinary family in Paris: a father (TV Show host), a mother, and a son who is on his school’s swimming team; but as the film develops, there is a constant underlying attempt to have us understand the relevance of the decisions we make and how these decision can have generational effects in the world we live in. I guess it is very existential (1) in it’s attempted to revive the human spirit from its comatose state, one of denial of responsibility. This state of the main character, a host of a television show about contemporary literature, who is living without the anxiety from actions taken in his life, especifically since childhood, that have effected a few of the people around him.
Georges Laurent (Danile Auteuil) and TV guest in Michael Haneke’s Caché 2005
If denial of responsibility is in fact one of the directors messages, an apparent parallel is drawn in the scene which frames a domestic argument around the world news on TV, particularly of Middle East conflicts. There are other news reports that are interwoven throughout the film that I understood as referencing the issues that arose during the early days of the Iraq invasion, such as the confusion rregarding who should be leading the invasion, and the goals of the invasion. As the stakes are raised in the film the main character chooses to constantly convince himself and others that his petty actions cannot and should not be held responsible for the destruction of another characters life, even though each time, with every denial, he is drawn deeper and deeper into the quagmire. He assumes that time has washed his hand free of any responsibility.
Anne Laurent (Juiliette Binoche) and Georges Laurent (Danile Auteuil) in Michael Haneke’s Caché 2005
I won’t go into it much further since this is only my perspective on the film, you can, of course, find your way through this film completely outside of this political and existential route. But if your expecting Caché to reveal a truths about the characters and events in the film, you will be thoroughly disappointed and might even feel a bit frustrated by it because many of aspects are purposefully left open ended. But don’t confuse the added vagueness as a mere art-house film hook, Michael Haneke decision are completely justifiable as he is not interested in simply his views but in how the viewer constructs the reality and ultimately makes decisions about the film.(2)
Majid (Maurice Bénichou) in Michael Haneke’s film Caché, 35mm, 2005.
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(1) A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of one’s acts.
- American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation.
(2) Hidden in Plain Sight - Robin Wood on Michael Haneke’s Cache, Artforum January 2006, pg 35-40