Hidden

Every now and then a film comes along that makes you think about the world around you. Once a year a film arrives that demands your attention and requires you to make a commitment of two hours of your time. I have to admit I am a bit of a snob when it comes to popular culture. I hate mindless films that merely require you to zone out and munch popcorn while your brain retires (although I did see X-Men 3 recently!). What is the point? I want to be challenged. I want my brain to get some exercise. I don't want to become another mindless consumer of shit. Thankfully, Hidden is one of those films that challenges you (thankfully, otherwise I don't know where I would go with this post!!).

Released earlier this year, it is a French film (it's French title is Cache) written and directed by Michael Haneke. It tells the story of a wealthy bourgeois family who start receiving mysterious pictures along with videos taken outside their house. The video is one long shot of their house, watching the family leave for work, and the pictures are child-like drawings of a bloodied face. Over time, more videos are left outside the house and others are sent to Georges' (the afther) place of work with more pictures. Although the videos themselves are non-threatening, they start to tear at the seams of the family. Eventually, Georges finds the man who he believes is responsible for the videos, an Algerian called Majid, whose family once worked on his parent's farm when they were both children (before being killed in the Paris massacre of 1961 - read the link, I knew nothing of it until I saw this film).

The film itself works on many levels. As a thriller and as political commentary. To my mind, it works as an allegorical tale of the modern day world. Georges represents the West and Majid (the Algerian) represents the Middle East. Once Georges' family relied on the Algerians to run their farm and keep them ticking over economically. Then Majid's parents are killed in controversial circumstances and he is left alone with Georges' family. Georges' then becomes jealous of the attention Majid is getting and tells a lie to have him thrown off the farm. Fast forward and Georges is living in luxury while Majid is living in poverty. Georges refuses to acknowledge how his actions have affected Majid and hides the truth from his family. Furthermore, Georges has no desire to understand the motives of the actions that Majid has (supposedly) taken. He simply wants him to leave him alone, as he is afraid his lies will be revealed to his family. Effectively, he turns his back on Majid and leaves him to deal with the chaos that he helped create.

What makes this film so good is the way it conveys its message in a subtle manner. There is nothing overt about it, it can simply be enjoyed as a thriller without probing too deeply beneath the surface. However, when you pick apart elements of the story, it becomes clear what the true message of the story is. The beauty of this film is that it's real message is 'hidden'.