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| Confrontation in Cache (L) & The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (R) |
Much has already been said about
The Killing Of Sacred Deer so there’s really no reason to put another “review” of it out in to the universe. We get it. We all know it’s one of – if not
the – best films of 2017. What I’d like to delve in to are the strong similarities it shares with another great film in the form of
Cache (probably the best film of 2005 as far as I’m concerned)…
In my opinion,
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer is essentially Haneke’s
Cache without the socially conscious/historical/racial angle. Plus, it’s darkly comical whereas
Cache isn’t funny at all. But even with those differences – the films are still similar in the same way that Passolini’s
Teorema is to Ozon’s
Sitcom.
Sitcom is a
loose remake of
Teorema. Ozon made quite a few obvious changes like using a rat as the Trojan horse instead of Terrence Stamp (
Teorema), but
the basic story remains the same in Sitcom.
Actually, all four films (Teorema, Sitcom, Cache & The Killing Of A Sacred Deer) are cut from the same cloth in that they’re all about an outside entity bringing a family’s skeletons & dirty secrets out in to the open.
In Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos focused on the part of the story that involves the loss of a father. Fatherhood is a huge part of both Cache & Sacred Deer (there’s also a sub-plot involving class as the two opposing families in each movie are on opposite ends of the class spectrum). For those of you that haven’t seen Sacred Deer – Martin (Barry Keoghan)’s father died on the operating table at the hands of Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell), and is seeking revenge because he feels Steven is responsible for his father’s death. In Cache, Majid's son (this character isn’t given a name in the credits) is seeking a similar form of revenge. Majid's son blames George - his father’s former foster brother - for his father’s hard life. True – Majid's son (Cache) grew up with his father, while Martin’s father died prior to the events in Sacred Deer, but midway in to Cache *SPOILER* Majid takes his own life (something that is also hung over George’s head).
From a visual/thematic standpoint - the similarities are un-debatable...
Both film have a very similar father/son relationship (the sons in both films even look alike)
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
There’s an underlying theme of; “attack on the upper class”. Early on in both movies we get the happy families sitting around the dinner table. This is the last time we see both families happy & undisturbed...
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
As we've already established - both Martin (Sacred Deer) and Majid's son (Cache) are motivated by revenge...
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
The “antagonist” son characters use the protagonist’s children as pawns to put their plans in to play…
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
The “protagonist” keeps important secrets from his wife that comes back to bite him in the ass…
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
There's a weird relationship between the protagonist’s wife and his close (male) friend…
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
Similar spurts of self-inflicted violence…
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
Throughout the film you question the morality of the main character/"protagonist"
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
Both films end somewhat open & unresolved…
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| Cache / The Killing Of A Sacred Deer |
There are also indescribable comparisons that can be made in that the overall tone/ambiance in both films are incredibly similar (the exception being that
Cache doesn't have any funny moments). It should be noted that when Yorgos Lanthimos exploded on the scene with
Dogtooth, he was compared to Haneke quite a bit.
Perhaps I have too much time on my hands or perhaps I'm on to something with this comparison. What do you all think?
