Writer/director Michael Haneke's matter-of-fact storytelling makes the French drama CACHÉ (HIDDEN) all the more chilling. Fair Warning: those who don't think a suspense thriller is truly thrilling without tons of inventively gory violence and a high body count may start tapping their feet impatiently. Indeed, some might simply use those feet to walk out on the film, like one bored couple did in the theater where I saw CACHÉ during its 2005 theatrical run. However, those who appreciate intelligent psychological thrillers with a slow fuse (like me) will be riveted by the war of nerves between book critic/TV personality Georges Laurent (Daniel Auteuil) and whoever is sending him videotapes of his house and his family going through their daily routine, as well as creepy childlike drawings of a young boy bleeding from the mouth. Is it the fallout from some mindless cruelty Georges inflicted on a young Algerian boy during their youth? Is Georges just plain paranoid? Or does the answer lie in something out of the blue? I don't want to give away too much, but I found CACHÉ to be a fascinating study of how past misdeeds and lies -- even lies that were intended to protect the protagonists' loved ones -- can catch up with you no matter how you've turned your life around. Juliette Binoche is sympathetic as Georges' increasingly frightened and angry wife, as is Maurice Bénichou as the now-grown Algerian who may be getting a bum rap (his final scene is as tragic as it is shocking). If this kind of psychological suspense is your cup of hemlock, CACHÉ is well worth seeing! (As of this writing, it's airing on the IFC Channel.)
