I found the techniques in Cache to be very interesting. Haneke does a good job at going beyond just using a camera as a viewpoint and uses objects in the movie as well. Besides watching George on TV, we can see his expression when faced with the son on Majid on the elevator through the glass. We can clearly see them both looking at each other, then staring away, and you can feel the tension within the elevator, as can everyone else, as you can see their expressions go from one, to the other, then trying not to look at either. We also look through the distorted memories of George as we enter his dreams. First we see this when Majid is coughing up blood, later when he chops the head of the rooster off then comes at George with the knife, both which we learn to be lies.
After watching the movie I looked it up on IMDB to see what other people thought of it. Upon looking to see those who enjoyed it and others who did not, I found one theory that interested me. Someone posted the theory of the tapes being part of a reality show in which George did not know it was being filmed but this was the “new project” his agent discussed with him. I thought this was interesting because then it would mean there are so many more people doing the looking than just those who come into possession with a tape (his agent and his household). However, I had a theory of my own, that somehow, Georges mother was connected to all of this, which was why all she needed to stop herself from feeling lonely was her TV, a VCR, and a remote. This would make her the ultimate viewer of everything, keeping herself in the know of what was going on with her family.
When it comes to what is actually being looked at and what lies off camera, they simply follow into each other. When you think of what lies off camera, we can go beyond just hearing the voices of George and Anne as they discuss the fact that someone is watching them, we can move towards the tension that occurs during the movie, the seemingly endless possibilities of theories about who is taping and sending these tapes, and even the feelings we get as we see some of these gruesome scenes and are left to feel as George does. When George is in the apartment with Majid, you can feel the tension between the two of them, and suddenly that tension is cut with a knife (literally and figuratively) as Majid slits his throat open. Suddenly we see blood splatter against the wall and slowly become a puddle of blood on the floor. At this point, if you’ve been paying enough attention to the movie, you can almost feel as George does. Shock, not knowing what to do, panic, slightly starting to pace back and forth, and sick, signaled by his coughing and possibly the feeling of nausea.
Haneke gives the average viewer something more than average to look at. Instead of giving an average film in which everything is laid out for the passive viewer, in this film, you must be an active participant. If you slip for more than a few moments, you may miss something important, or something that seems important. He leaves things very open, waiting for someone to interpret the movie as they’d like. The viewer also has to have a keen eye to see everything occurring, which is most important at the end, which some people miss in the lower left hand side Majid’s son approaching Perrot and talking for a few moments. However, the topic of their discussion is also left to interpretation. The more important thing here I think is his experiment of whether or not people will catch onto that without being told, which many have not.
George is also left to interpret things within the movie. We see that in the film as George receives these tapes leading him to Majid’s apartment and decides he must go. What would’ve happened had he not gone? I don’t recall the tape saying his must go; yet he did. When viewing movies and tapes and the like, it isn’t always necessary that you be an active participant or follow as the tape displays. Yet George chooses to.
The movie employs some interesting techniques although as I’ve seen on some of the reviews, people dislike it for missing the points of it, or focus mostly on the more disturbing scenes than anything else. This movie was probably my second favorite home viewing movie of all we have seen this far.
