Review of Amour (2012) by Legitsalt — 08 May 2020

Black Swan very well could be the best film of the decade; however, Amour takes the ceremonial prize due to Haneke’s skill as a director. Sure, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva give some of the best performances of the decade, and certainly, their supporting cast is wonderful, but the film’s atmosphere, looming shots, and thematic concepts surpass this.

Haneke’s distinct style can run amok within Amour, heavily delving into euthanasia and suicide in general. Amour explores the same elements of suicide that Happy End does, the only differences being the pieces it uses to do so.

Haneke’s previous works bleed into this, with remnants of Time of the Wolf, Funny Games, and Code Unknown all present and these influences are appreciated and well placed. Amour may be periodically obscure and potentially tiringly slow, but Amour is deeply beautiful and touching in many ways.