Amour (2012)

Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writer:

Michael Haneke (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert

Won 1 Oscar. Another 47 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Georges
Emmanuelle Riva	...	Anne
Isabelle Huppert	...	Eva
Alexandre Tharaud	...	Alexandre
William Shimell	...	Geoff
Ramón Agirre	...	Concierge's Husband
Rita Blanco	...	Concierge
Carole Franck	...	Nurse #1
Dinara Drukarova	...	Nurse #2
Laurent Capelluto	...	Police Officer #1
Jean-Michel Monroc	...	Police Officer #2
Suzanne Schmidt	...	Neighbour
Damien Jouillerot	...	Paramedic #1
Walid Afkir	...	Paramedic #2

Storyline

Georges and Anne are a couple of retired music teachers enjoying life in their eighties. However, Anne suddenly has a stroke at breakfast and their lives are never the same. That incident begins Anne's harrowingly steep physical and mental decline as Georges attempts to care for her at home as she wishes. Even as the fruits of their lives and career remain bright, the couple's hopes for some dignity prove a dispiriting struggle even as their daughter enters the conflict. In the end, George, with his love fighting against his own weariness and diminished future on top of Anne's, is driven to make some critical decisions for them both.

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Plot Keywords:

love | music teacher | daughter | musician | stroke | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including a disturbing act, and for brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Germany Austria

Language:

French English

Release Date:

20 September 2012 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Amor

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$8,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$68,266 (USA) (21 December 2012)

Gross:

$6,738,954 (USA) (10 May 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Losange, X-Filme Creative Pool, Wega Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Existing Cannes Festival rules preclude the possibility of one film winning multiple awards. Hence, Amour won only one single award at Cannes 2012, the Palme D'or, in spite of the jury deeming it worthy of other awards as well. Jury President Nanni Moretti later told director Michael Haneke that had it only been up to him, he would have awarded the film not just the Palme D'or, but Best Actor for Jean-Louis Trintignant, Best Actress for Emmanuelle Riva and Best Director and Best Screenplay to Michael Haneke. Ironically, Michael Haneke himself was responsible for getting the rules changes allowing one film to win only one major award when in 2001, his film The Piano Teacher won 3 major awards at the Cannes Film Festival of that year - the Grand Jury Prize, Best Actress and Best Actor.

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Quotes

Georges: Things will go on, and then one day it will all be over.

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Connections

Referenced in Tosh.0: The Oscars Spoiler Alerts (2013)

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Soundtracks

"Impromptu opus 90 - no1"
Franz Schubert
Interprétés au piano par Alexandre Tharaud

User Reviews

Two human beings gradually abate into claustrophobic indignity

According to Robert Sternberg's triangular theory, the paragon of love is "consummate"—complete, ideal, perfect. In this fashion of love, a couple delights in each other while defeating hardships with grace. Some might argue that aseptic concepts don't translate in the ebb and flow of reality; they would be right. Except Sternberg never said consummate was truly sustainable or permanent.

Amour surpasses consummate and escalates the inquiry; venturing into end-stage by showing us the bits that come before "death do us part".

When the movie begins, firemen break into a foul smelling apartment. A bedroom door, shut and sealed with layers of tape open to reveal the lifeless body of an old woman laid at rest. She was dressed in the finest, adorned with flowers. We are then introduced to main protagonists; ex-piano teachers Georges and Anne. Retired octogenarians with a long history of marriage who have settled comfortably into middle-class existence. The couple is shown attending a concert performed by one of their ex-students, and having a pleasant evening together—that was the last scene filmed outside their apartment.

On returning home, Georges discovers a tampered door lock. What appears to be a burglary attempt by strangers in the present, alludes to the change about to intrude at dawn.

At first consideration, Michael Haneke is an unlikely choice for stock sentimental genres. His blank, minimalistic, expressionless style of film-making; famous for detachment and cold neutrality would only aggravate the treatment of dry complex material. When one walks into a Haneken feature, expect neither theatrics nor emotions. Still shots, basic camera movements overlayed with monotonous ambient sounds only. But realistic mise en scène accentuates the intense deliberation demanded by his films (Caché, The White Ribbon). This is the principle behind those introspective pieces.

We are living in times of antipodal controversies. Pro-life campaigns against palliative medicine in the Liverpool Care Pathway saga is just one among the many that surround euthanasia debates. Rather than hanker over mission statements, Amour grazes the back door stance without overtly fixating on any specific message. And it would be perceptive to withhold from believing the central theme concerns itself with human rights because it doesn't.

This is a story about a common man and woman, what their romance is capable of enduring, and their burning departure from blessed peace. Amour makes observations behind mysterious doors; allowing you to watch as two human beings gradually abate into claustrophobic indignity. Tender, humane, poetic and heart rending.

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