Customer Reviews
the hidden crimes of humanity - By: Dr. U. L. Khawaja, 23 Jul 2008 
papon ,a nazi collaborator ordered the massacre of at least 200-1000 peaceful demonstrators during the algerian war,drowned or shot in the heart of paris.
this movie is a socio-political hidden innuendo in the form of a refined & re-invented revisitation of the event & its reverbrating consequences,its victims are actuallly the guilt-ridden french conscience that tolerated a state sponsored concentration camp & brutal police killings intentionallly,the satire or observation works in the form of a modern couple who are receiving violent messages ,the reaction of the spouses to each other is natural as the wife rebels against the husband's guilt ridden belated confessions to the root cause of their persecution,
haneke is a master & he deploys images to explain & suggests rather then talk about both the horrific event which rendered an 8 year old boy an orphan & then the NORMAL jealousy of a 6 year old which led to ruining the life of the orphan in a state orphanage.
but the optimisim is about the next generation that the last shot so skilfully devises as two polar cultures come together in the compound of a school,and you understand the character of pierrot,laurents son & his possible liaision in the event itself of terrorising his own family.
This is simply genius-the orphan majid & his reactions are overwhelming ,while you cannot judge the laurent family or george -so who is to blame-PAPON,WHO WAS CONVICTED OF WAR CRIMES IN 1998,for deportation of jews & then the algerian massacre in the heart of paris over pontsaint-michel-this is a masterpiece,a modern classic attired as a slick thriller but it will haunt you as the imaginary nightmare that charles laurent undergoes as his guilty conscience perturbs him -death is no punishment but a liberation ,it is a tortured soul that suffers eternallly & the hidden becomes an overt tribute to the politicallly & raciallly massacred victims of france from st.Bart's day massacre to the recent police conflicts with africans in parisian suburbs ,
mr .haneke's hidden is the most important socio-political thriller ever made as it talks of a mass national guilt in the context of individuals ,but hits it's nail right on the head just like haneke meant it to be -the movie is titled hidden but it's message is a noble ,humane ,liberating truth which makes a true parody of the trashy last few decades .
this is a modern day great classic which is possibly only comparable to pan's labyrinth in it's context of teror on children's minds but psycholigicallly it's far superior to that as it indulges in not judging the french or laurents but looking at the future in it's finale great moments .
en core .
usman khawaja
Not an American thriller - By: D. J. Keyworth, 24 Jun 2008 Many of the reviewers of this film do not appreciate the difference between the "European" approach to film-making & the American. Why do people want a closed, resolved ending to everything? Why do they have to have everything spelled out to them? What is wrong with the film-maker leaving explanations ambiguous?
This film isn't just about guilt, but also about the denial of guilt, about the denial of responsibility, about the need to shift responsibility onto someone else. This film asks questions about whether & when should you hold yourself responsible. There are class, intellectual, racial & gender attitudes which alll lead to the Daniel Auteil character into denying to himself, his wife, his tv boss & his son his part in the current situation of someone with whom he shared a part of his family childhood.
The film leaves you to wonder whether you are like the main character. Are you a "me, me, me" type of person or, when confronted with painful evidence of your responsibility, do you own up, apologise, try to make good, or just absolve yourself of any blame if you can, because you think others are just worth less than you?
The film leaves you asking yourself real questions about yourself, makes you keep thinking about who was to blame; should he, & would you, have acted differently?
Don't watch the film if you want to be spoon-fed alll the answers Hollywood-style. If you want to have your comfort-zone challlenged, then this is an excellent film.
Compelled - By: Mr. AJ McIntosh, 24 Apr 2008 As in, I feel compelled to write a five star review for this film just to help up it's utterly unjust three star rating (as it stands today).
This is one of my favourite films that I have only seen once. I watched it a couple of years ago & some of the imagery & ideas are still clear as day in my mind. I still think about this film & I think that is amazing, considering it took up a couple of hours back in 2006.
It is a very good portrayal of the complexities of guilt & alll it's associated mental states. And draws the viewer into the predicament expertly.
Hidden - By: Stalker, 23 Apr 2008 
Essentiallly an intelligent drama dressed up as a thriller about guilt: how we tend to hide from it & what happens when we are forced to confront it. Unfortunately the director's determination to make his audience examine their own guilt makes the film unworkable as a thriller & you have to be content with there being no attempt to close out the story in a rational way. Often films such as this give you enough pieces to conjure up your own explanations but here those pieces are deliberately not provided so it's futile to try & draw any conclusions: there aren't enough characters or motives to identify a human villain besides the obvious.
Lacking suspense - By: DaveW, 10 Mar 2008 
This film proved to be anything but gripping. Even the term "thriller" is a stretch for this movie since very little happens. Whilst the concept is interesting, the execution generates no real atmosphere & you feel unconnected to the characters, good or bad. I'm a huge fan of intelligent foreign movies but this one is just too slow & anticlimactic to deliver what it promises.
