filmbore pick of the week - Hidden

Hidden (Caché)

Director: Michael Haneke
Screenplay: Michael Haneke
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche, Maurice Bénichou
Year: 2005
Language: French
UK rental release: June 2006

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One of the world's masters of the drama, Michael Haneke, won his second Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival for his new film Amour (his first being for The White Ribbon in 2009). So, in honour of his success I felt it poignant to pay a visit to one of his previous masterpieces, Hidden.

Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil, Jean De Florette, La Séparation) is a local celebrity, known for presenting a popular talk show on literature and arts. The small price of fame from being on TV does mean he gets some familiar attention of course by fans and the odd obsessive, but none like the one he is about to receive.

A curious video tape lands on the doorstep of the Laurent household, containing hours of surveillance footage of the front of their home. What is the meaning of this tape? It's accompanied by a crude drawing too, only adding to it's already apparent eeriness. Is this a schoolboy prank? From a voyeur perhaps? Or even a detective?

Georges' wife, Anne (Juliette Binoche, The Three Colours Trilogy, The English Patient) is slightly more disturbed then him over this gift from a new stalker. More in tune to normal affairs, she's also concerned over the effect this could have over their son, Pierrot (a debuting Lester Makedonsky). However, there's no doubt of the subtle mystery the tape has introduced to their lives as they slowly unravel its purpose.

More tapes arrive, and so do more of the drawings, striking some kind of chord with Georges. Something is definitely troubling him. Is it just his dreams, or is a direct memory from the past haunting his conscience? Some of these tapes are not just of their home either, but of journeys to familiar places. The thought of reuniting with a boyhood family connection fuels further speculation to the intention behind the recordings, as the enigma darkens in George's mind. 

The trust between Georges and Anne is gradually deteriorating. As they delve deeper into the puzzle, Anne's fear & doubt and Georges' intrigue & paranoia slowly create a cavern between them. With this growing volatility, Georges will have to contain his emotional suffering to discover the truth behind the tapes.

Let me start by saying that if you haven't seen an Haneke film before, this is a great entry point. Even though his backbone is drama, he has been known to stray from a genre and surprise, which can be a good thing, but also polarises views sometimes (for example, the excellent Funny Games). What I like about Hidden though is that it's textbook Haneke with all the fancy layers stripped out, leaving his pure craft for us to pore over.

His watermark can be noticed from the off with the calm, but unsettling, opening shot, drawing you in through pure titillation. In fact, Haneke captivates you throughout, capturing his trademark long patient shots, confiding in the audience to bear witness to the tale that will slowly evolve. Such assurance is confounded by the repetition of the exterior shot, mirrored from the opening one, which during the first act as a traverse between scenes of interaction. 

Other interesting filming choices in close-ups and unique camera positioning bring claustrophobia into the mix too. You won't notice most of the feelings born inside of you during the earlier scenes, but they creep up ever so gently to your emotive surface. This peculiar blend of a sense of unease and allure is aided by the unusual choice of using no music - dialogue, subtle noise and, sometimes, even silence build their own organic soundtrack for an authentic mood. These diverse decisions in cinematic craft help to draw some inspiring performances from our cast, for the always dependable Binoche, and the charasmatic Auteuil, who is astoundignly good in this picture.

Even though theme-less from an audible perspective, there are themes nonetheless, primarily on trust and deceit. As described in Haneke's filming methods above, he ironically lays such faith in your lap to how the story moves and how it is produced, while at the same time the trust between our leads is crumbling away. Yet, as strong as this subject matter is, behind it all this is simply the journey of Georges, having to get a handle on how the impact of decisions made so long ago can still affect you a lifetime later.

Using French as its language, this Austrian produced piece was denied entry to the nominations for the 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language film due to French not being the predominant language of Austria. This is a real shame as it would have been a strong contender for the gong, playing tug-of-war with that year's excellent winner, Tsotsi.

What's more frustrating though is how this film has split audiences in the past, due to some derived views that this slow (I prefer patient) bad thriller (er, it's more of a drama!) has no resolve (pay attention to the last shot perhaps?!). I am open to all opinions, but I feel that such views are so contrived when considering such a masterpiece. You could believe that it leaves you hanging, but even if you don't spot the clue in the parting shot it's still a rewarding piece of acting brilliance and cinematic confidence... Haneke doing what he does best! 

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