SYNOPSIS:
Georges, who hosts a TV literary review, receives packages
containing videos of himself with his family - shot secretly
from the street - and alarming drawings whose meaning is obscure.
He has no idea who may be sending them. Gradually, the footage
on the tapes becomes more personal, suggesting that the sender
has known Georges for some time. Georges feels a sense of
menace hanging over him and his family but, as no direct threat
has been made, the police refuse to help...
MOVIE
REVIEW:
When the
first frame of a film lingers on for almost 3 minutes on screen,
you know you are in for something different.
In
this award-winning French thriller, the protagonist is a TV
literary reviewer named Georges who starts to receive mysterious
videos about himself, his family and weird drawings as well.
The couple is left to fend on their own as the cops find it
totally harmless thus not a concern for a follow-up investigation.
“Hidden” has touches of a good old Hitchcock’s
thriller and as the story progress, more characters are revealed
and yes, Georges has a “hidden” secret too, to
spice things up a little. Not even his dear wife knew about
this. While the pacing is not entirely rapid, the plot will
keep you guessing who’s the nincompoop behind this bizarre
event. Even a scene showing the couple having dinner with
a group of friends look suspicious. So who’s the culprit
who is keeping track of Georges and family’s whereabouts?
If
you leave it to Hollywood to finish the script, tonnes of
blood will be spilled, a psychotic killer will emerge and
Georges will save the day. Hand this over to the Koreans,
they might just throw in a North Korean defector seeking revenge.
The Chinese? A cop might turn out to be the culprit instead.
So how’s the French going to do it?
One
side of the camp which comprises the Cannes crowd and the
European Film’ judges will applaud this effort. The
other side which consist of the normal filmgoers will gasp
at it’s closing. Director and writer Michael Haneke
have deliberately left a big surprise for the audience, his
very own conspiracy theory perhaps.
Although
Daniel Auteuil (from the superb cop drama “36”)
and Juliette Binoche puts in captivating performances as the
couple in jeopardy, I’m afraid the crowd will label
this as a “headless” chicken on the run. Watch
“Hidden’ and you know what I mean. I leave the
final verdict to you.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
NIL
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
film is presented in both Dolby Digital 2.0 and Dolby Digital
5.0. Stripped bared from any accompanied music score, the
film relied heavily on dialogues and the occasional sounds
from the streets. If you ask me, the former is substantial
to carry the load. Shot in dark shades and brown tones, the
colours are brooding enough to convey the sombre mood. Overall,
the disc transfer is recommendable.
MOVIE
RATING:
OVERALL
DVD RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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