Movie No. 16: AMOUR

Amour (2012)
Director: Michael Haneke
Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert

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 tested. - This synopsis is directly lifted from IMDB website.

The film does capture patiently and, to some extent, passionately, the struggles - physical and emotional pain, helplessness, vulnerability, fear, facing mortality - of being old.  What adds to the film's being completely absorbing are the heartbreaking but stunning performances of the lead actors. It's mostly body language that dominated the acting showcase in this film. The script is honest and the director's treatment of the scenes is meticulous. This is definitely a great love story.

The film won Palm D'Or at Cannes Film Festival last year. In this year's Academy Awards (for films shown in 2012), Amour gets 5 nominations - Best Picture, Best Actress (Emmanuelle Riva), Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Original Screenplay. The National Society of Film Critics also bestowed the film with three awards - Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress.

Date seen: January 13, 2013

Rating: 4.0/4