Review XXXVI
Amour (2012)
I am not new to the works of Michael Haneke. I've watched his 2001 film, La pianiste, or the The Piano Teacher, for its English release.The Piano Teacher won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Cannes festival.I've heard of Funny Games (the original and the remake) and Das weiße Band, Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte, or, as it is known in English-speaking countries, The White Ribbon. The White Ribbon won the Palme d'Or for best film at the Cannes festival and the Golden Globes award for best foreign film in 2009 and was nominated for Best Foreign Film that year at the Oscars. Obviously this man has a talent for telling a story. In 2012, he won the Palme d'Or again for his latest film, Amour, or Love, in English. Since it is quite possible it might make the final list for the Academy Awards best foreign film as Austria's entry, I decided to check it out.
Firemen break into an apartment and discover a dead woman laying in a bed with flowers in her hands and surrounding her in a taped up room. The next scene cuts to a man playing a piano concert and being congratulated by the same woman who was found in the apartment. This woman is Anne Laurent (Emmanuelle Riva who is married to Georges Laurent (Jean-Louis Trintignant). The two are eighty-something year old retired piano teachers. The two have an musically aspiring daughter, Eva (Isabelle Huppert), and they lead a quiet life in Paris. One day Anne suddenly goes silent and unresponsive while eating breakfast with Georges. Concerned, Georges brings her to the doctor where it is found she has a blocked carotid artery (found in the neck). However, the surgery goes wrong and Anne becomes paralysed on her right side and no longer able to walk properly. Anne makes Georges promise not to bring her to the hospital again. The situation gets worse when Anne suffers from a stroke, and while Georges strains to keep his promise, his own mental well-being is strained as well.
Apparently the film is based on a personal story Michael Haneke experienced in his family. I actually went through a similar predicament recently in a somewhat similar fashion to this. I have to praise the completely realistic depiction it had on the worsening condition of Anne and the stress it has on the family. It definitely made me choke up at times, one for being reminded of what happened with me, but also just because you feel so much for the characters. The plot is depressing, but if a film can capture such a stressful and negative situation in such a way, it definitely deserves a watch and praise.
Emmanuelle Riva did a wonderful job. She shows an aggressive side of wanting to keep a certain level of independence even in her failing state. When she's very sick, she makes, again, a very realistic performance. Jean-Louis Trintignant also shows this mentality of wanting to be independent and show care for his wife even when having to face the difficulties he is forced to encounter. He loves his wife but taking on such a responsibility is extremely hard, especially given he is not in the prime of his life. I thought it was a bit strange that he seemed to lack emotion in certain situations, specifically anger, but when I discussed it with someone, they told me some people just hide their emotions like that. I'm not sure if maybe it was just me, but sometimes his acting seemed lacking when dealing with people telling him what to do. However, he expressed it well in other situations, so maybe I'm just crazy.
The film was a bit peculiar at some points with symbolism really taking over, but Michael Haneke seems to have that in his films. Anyway, it's not a negative element, just an observation. I'd give the film eight stars on ten. The lack of emotion, even if it was intentional, seemed off to me. The ambiguity was also a bit strange at times, but the story itself was very well portrayed most of the time. Some scenes were extremely touching and heart wretching (sniffle). While I think it is a film one should watch, it isn't something to casually watch on a Sunday. This film really asks for your attention and investment, and I say make sure you give it that.
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