Caché (Haneke, 2005)

For my European Cinema course we are to give 300 word analyses on every film we watch. This is the first of them. From now on I will not denote which post is for this class, but it will probably be pretty clear. As a result, this blog contains...SPOILERS... how I hate that word. But I do advise you see this film before reading this post. I think it is a really great film that challenges its audience and has some interesting things to say, so go rent Caché and then come right back here to read what I think of it.

One of the most striking elements of Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005) is the editing. In this film the editing does not merely serve the story as it does in many other films. Coupled with the cinematography, the editing of Caché guides the audience through the film shaping their emotions and reactions to each scene.

From the opening shot, which stares, unmoving, at the front of a house for several

minutes, leaves the audience confused and feeling a little voyeuristic. This feeling never leaves the viewer, especially not as the closing credits roll over a similarly stationary shot of the school. We soon learn that these awkwardly long takes are, within the cinematic world, video tapes sent to the characters. In this way the audience is right in feeling that they are spying, rather than watching a movie.

The powerful impact of the 'video' shots is heightened with the editing. After over a minute of watching essentially nothing happens; with no camera movement any cut is jarring. This is not the only instance of shock instilled in the audience. When Georges (Daniel Auteuil) goes to see Majid (Maurice Bénichou), who quickly pulls out a knife and slits his throat in a jaw-dropping explosion of blood, the audience is left as stunned as Georges. And that take continues to roll, as Georges walks off screen, then back on, letting the audience calm down. In the next sequence Georges goes home and there is a long quiet conversation in the dark bedroom. After this scene, the film cuts rather unexpectedly to a very brightly lit, extremely loud swim meet.

Haneke does not use these methods to 'scare' the audience. They are used more to heighten the sense of uneasiness of the characters, and that is already created by the story. He uses editing to get the audience comfortable with something and then drastically changes their perception of it, in a very shocking way.