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 42 wins & 36 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 [jp]

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

The Anne's former piano student Alexandre is played by actual concert pianist Alexandre Tharaud in his first acting job. Michael Haneke wanted a real pianist for the role. Tharaud also contributed to the film's soundtrack. Eva's husband Geoff is played by professional opera singer William Shimell (who, like his character, is British). Actress Isabelle Huppert, who plays the daughter Eva, also plays piano.

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Quotes

Anne: There's no point in going on living. That's how it is. I know it can only get worse. Why should I inflict this on us, on you and me?
Georges: You're not inflicting anything on me.
Anne: You don't have to lie, Georges.
Georges: [looks down at the floor contemplatively] Put yourself in my place. Didn't you ever think that it could happen to me, too?
Anne: Of course I did. But imagination and reality have little in common.
Georges: But things are getting better every day.
Anne: I don't want to carry on. You're making such sweet efforts to ...
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards (2013)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

French-language masterpiece of the year

The fact that Amour is an instant classic in the art-house world is as indisputable as the emotions presented by the protagonists of the film are bewildering. This picture is Haneke's minimalistic yet mightily expressive homage to love as we know it, showing the feeling's overpowering force and heartfelt, altruistic nature. While remaining a thoroughly unsentimental and provocative picture, Amour delivers a most-demanding portrayal of an elderly couple's last days together. Those cultivated, sophisticated characters need to evaluate their long-lasting marriage and come to terms with their own emotions, and, simultaneously, discover the true meaning of love in itself. Decisions need to be made, and some of them might be shocking to say the least.

It's a beautiful but considerable piece of filmmaking, where a sombre atmosphere and touching yet disturbing imagery permeate every scene. Haneke's steady and visionary directorial hand promises many moving and heartbreaking sequences, while still providing a poetic exemplification of a well- lived life's concluding moments. It's impossible to find neither a plausible sense of redemption nor an authentic touch of consolation, no. The film displays a marvelous character-driven narrative, where loving individuals diverge from the seemingly familiar path and start arguing with their own opinions and ideals, leading to some truly perplexing choices. In the most unexpected manner Amour touches the controversial topic of euthanasia, emphatically depicting how difficult it might seem to even consider such a harsh decision.

Amour is a tender, scrupulous, demanding, two-hour visualization of a romance well beyond boundaries, and through its difficult notions it shows human existence in its most intimate and most elegiac state. That death seems inevitable from the very first minutes is certain, but the way Haneke chooses in order to finally arrive at this intensely upsetting conclusion is an uneasy one. Amour is definitely a cinematic powerhouse, which will leave the audiences in a most pensive, quiet - even downcast - mood, still astounding with its ubiquitous beauty.