Review of Amour (2012) by Kevin N — 17 Feb 2013

Michael Haneke makes films that show the extremes of human nature through extreme subtlety, turning the everyday into quiet glimpses of guilt, violence, spontaneity, tragedy and sickness. This is the best film I have seen him make in regards to all of those things, but its most generous gift is right there in its title, as unambiguous a nudge as Haneke will ever give.

It is love that drives the two people of this story to every unbearable decision made in the film, and in the end Haneke doesn't make us understand love; in fact, he asks us to try not to understand it and to only understand that it is the only thing that makes any sense of this life, in all its longevity, for better or worse.

The names of these two people are Georges and Anne, a married couple in their eighties who live together, quite happily, in their modestly-sized apartment. Presumably it is a very big building, though that's taking a guess on my part; Haneke never allows us to leave the couple's apartment.

Fairly quickly, we discover at the same time they do that Anne is terminally ill with a disease that will deteriorate her physically and mentally, and quite quickly at that. And off we go. One might assume that the following plot would be depressing, and on paper I'd agree; yet depression is one of the few emotions I never felt while watching the film, or after.

Instead, Haneke and his brilliant cast take us on an emotional exploration that asks us to observe and sympathize (or knowing Haneke, maybe just the former, but I sure did a lot of the latter). I couldn't decide who to give my attention to when both Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva were on screen.

They are both electrifying in their handling of these two characters' vulnerabilities and strengths, giving us powerful inspirations to continue with them through the smallest of gestures. Riva, in her partial paralysis, commands, and Trintignant keeps a light on in the dark for most of the film.

..until those scary moments when Haneke intends for us to get lost. Here, Haneke has found the perfect story to fit his prolonged takes and obsession with stillness. This is the best film I have seen him make, and even if I never see it again, I suspect its impact will never fade on my memory.