LAist: Scary Movies: Cache

thunderboltfan

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:28:06 -0800

Well, I almost hate to say I saw The Lives of Others in a theater but it's a different kind of film, more a straightforward narrative that seems to start disparately and then slowly the elements click into place. I can't imagine it being any less powerful on the small screen, but you tell me. Curious to hear what you think, WC.

Bob LLama

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 18:03:37 -0800

I thin this film was fantastic. I hated it at first. It's a slow-burn, for sure. Very complex... Perhaps people aren't willing to make enough of an effort to get anything out of it?

Will Campbell

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:01:04 -0800

I almost hate to say... "The Lives of Others" is in my Netflix queue.

thunderboltfan

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:47:29 -0800

Yeah, I'm picky too about what I'll fork over $$ to see. One thing I've found is that you don't see many idiot texters in foreign films, if any. Or even at reasonably serious, intelligent cinema, which is the only thing I'll pay to see because I'm a film snob. (Haha, can you tell I love feeling so above it all in LA?) As for the opening sequence in Cache, it's what sucked me into the film. The juxtaposition of cinema setting/surreptitiously shot video and the subtle, ruthless jolt of realization when I realized what I were watching was a disorienting mind fuck; the whole audience (all five of us) kind of shuddered in unison. Cache is the only Haneke film I've seen. I'm intending to add some of his others to my queue, although I suppose I'll be running the risk of missing the cinema setting. Did you see The Lives of Others?

Will Campbell

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:02:02 -0800

I won't disagree with you about intended settings Thunder, but the fact is I'm compelled to see films in theaters only a few times a year. Purists might find that pitiable, but tix and popcorn and Pepsi and parking and the bastid text messaging while kicking the back of my seat add up too much to gamble on what most likely will be an inferior entertainment experience. I can't dispute that "Cache" might've benefited from being experienced on the big screen, but from what I saw of it on my small screen, I would've given up on it about the same time I did at home. Sooner even.

thunderboltfan

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:24:31 -0800

Some films need to be experienced in a theater to be fully appreciated, rather than via a Netflix queue. Cache is one of those films. I saw Cache opening weekend in a theater, which is really the way to judge it. And the opening scene was mesmerizing on the big screen and the entire film was riveting. I too have been disappointed in some films that I heard good things about while in theaters but end up being lesser experiences when viewed for the first time at home. It's a good argument for getting out and seeing them in their intended setting.

Will Campbell

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:15:23 -0800

A bias before even watching it No. 2? What an odd assumption that is to make (unless you watched me while I was watching it!). I'd heard good things about it, put it on my Netflix queue and when it arrived went into the film hoping to be entertained and intrigued. Five minutes into it I was neither. Thirty minutes into it I shut it off. You obviously have a different opinion but please make a note of how I'll refrain from dismissing yours as flippantly as you did mine.

ryansi51

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:16:24 -0800

I'm with Will, i usually love foreign thrillers like this one, but although the mood was great and it was shot well, at the end it more or less was just a, "huh?" for me.

panasonicyouth

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 12:13:34 -0800

It's clear you had a bias against this movie before even watching. Disregard his comment. This movie is fantastic and ridiculously creepy.

Will Campbell

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:14:27 -0800

Oooooooo.... gonna have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one. Couldn't STAND this film. What you call an hypnotic opening scene I call stagnant endless lifeless shot of the front of a residence in Paris that -- oh how clever: seques to the couple watching the video of a stagnant endless lifeless opening shot of a residence in Paris. And it just went downhill from there. The only tension this "psychological thriller" (which usually means it's neither) was from me cursing Haneke. Sucked in? Nah, just sucked.