Caché

To be still is to be hidden. Such is the logic of Haneke's camera in arguably the greatest film of all time. Objectivity is one of the biggest enigmas in cinema, always has been, but Haneke, like some deity moving above us mortal humans attempts to make it as transparent of a theory as it should be. The opening shot of Caché (Hidden in English) is the key to everything, for me. It's the answer to the whodunit posed within the plot, perfectly bookended with the final shot. With his opening shot, Haneke exposes the theory commonly suggested in cinema regarding objectivity - that because the camera is hidden, it is objective. The theory that this shot cannot be from a subjective, unreliable narrator because it has no character's perspective. The theory that we can believe what we see simply because it is still. In Caché, this theory is not fact. The twist of the film, of that opening shot, comes right at the start - the fourth wall is broken. Haneke bravely explodes cinematic time and space less than 5 minutes into his film, and his characters can interact with the very shots that capture their movements. By doing this, Haneke immediately dissects the role of the narrator, despite the fact that the story is narrated by no-one but him. Who sent the tapes? It's the timeless question of Caché, and whilst there are many important interpretations of this masterpiece, I find this to be the most interesting one. It's a question the film refuses to overtly answer, except through continued stillness. After that first shot, stillness in a shot creates tension - it's a key signifier of that unreliable shot we've been tricked into believing is objective. Along with the deep focus Haneke applies, the stillness challenges us - how do you solve a mystery when the mystery itself hates you and wants you to fail? I know who sent the tapes. At least I think I do - Haneke doesn't seem to care. Is he sadistic? Yes. Is he cruel? Probably. Is this the most mind-blowing film I've ever analysed, and a crucial cultural artefact of the turn of the century? Definitely.