Review of Amour (2012) by Jorge R — 18 Feb 2013

For a film about compassion, "Amour" is terribly violent and devastating to watch. Michael Haneke draws an unflinching portrait of illness and death, forcing audiences to confront the agony and humiliation of hospice care.

Despite the clinical and detached technique that characterizes the auteur's work, the film evokes great sentimentality and humanism, in great part thanks to the affecting performance of Emmanuelle Riva.

The justaposition of Haneke's brutal filmmaking and the fragile story he narrates help audiences turn a critical eye on the effects of disease and isolation on a lifelong love. Death looms large over the lonely protagonists of this modern tragedy, as well as us in the audience.

The firemen blasting through the apartment's front door, the fear of an intruder breaking into the unit moments later produce an ominous atmosphere in the opening scenes that lasts for the entire film.

Perhaps Haneke's use of cold, precise violence in movies like Caché and Funny Games was still too fresh in my memory, but I could not shake off the feeling that something awful was about to happen at any point.

My anxiety made me feel in closer proximity to the characters, as if I was also trapped in the oppressive world of their apartment... as if I was also sharing a room with death. "Amour" is the best film of the year, but I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to revisit it.