Cache (Hidden), written and directed by Michael Haneke, follows Georges, a television talk show host, and his wife Anne, played by Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche. These characters live an idyllic life of dinner parties, swim meets, and private schools. Their tranquil life, however, is shattered when a series of mysterious videotapes begin to turn up on their doorstep.

The first tapes to arrive are seemingly innocuous. They are used to demonstrate that a hidden camera is being used to film Georges and his family from across the street of their house. As more tapes arrive the images on them become more and more disturbing and personal. The clues offered in the tapes make the viewer understand that they are referencing a childhood secret held tightly by Georges, a secret he has not yet shared with Anne.

The film succeeds in drawing the viewer in to seeking answers to the mystery of the tapes. As you sit in the theater and watch each tape arrive you wait expectantly, seeking to understand who is sending the tapes and why. However, when you finally learn the childhood secret behind the tapes you find yourself wondering why this secret warranted such a vitriolic reaction from the sender.

Further, once the secret is shared with the viewer it becomes clear that the intended effect of the film is to demonstrate that even seemingly banal secrets can have serious consequences on the lives of those affected. Unfortunately, the film fails to make this point successfully because the viewer never fully understands why a man would seek retribution for a secret that impacted his life forty years prior.

If you like dark psychological mysteries then I would encourage you to see this film. However, if you seek to understand the nuanced psychology behind a mystery then I would encourage you to spend your time and money elsewhere.

Cache, in French with English subtitles, will be released in the lower mainland soon. To learn more about the film visit the official site at, www.sonyclassics.com/cache/.