Jean-Louis Trintignant
Emmanuelle Riva
Isabelle Huppert

Michael Haneke

127 mins.
Drama, Romance, Foreign
December 19, 2012

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

“Amour,” winner of the 2013 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, focuses on the marriage between two piano teachers when death knocks at their door. At the beginning of the film, the fire department breaks into their apartment only to find the wife dead; the husband isn’t there. The film then flashes back to just before the wife has her first of two strokes. The married couple attends a concert featuring one of their former students. The camera lingers on the audience during this scene. It never shows the pianist, though, who does appear later in the film.

In general, the camera remains as still as possible; it moves only out of necessity. One day, when the husband and wife are sitting at the kitchen table, the wife stops responding to him. He’s alarmed, but she comes to a few minutes later without any recollection of what happened. That was the aforementioned first stroke. She has an operation, but it’s unsuccessful. She tells her husband that she doesn’t want to end up in the hospital and, later on, that she doesn’t want to live in her condition: She’s tired. Her health continues to worsen, but the husband insists on caring for her in their apartment. He hires a nurse, who comes in three days a week. A second nurse is hired, but she and the husband don’t get along; he fires her, and she doesn’t take it well.

The wife’s deteriorating condition takes a toll on the husband. He doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone, including his daughter and her husband. The couple is visited not only by their daughter, but also by their former student and others. At the end, the husband takes things into his own hands.

The actors who portray the husband and wife do very clean, believable work. Emmanuelle Riva expertly portrays the ravages of mental and physical decline. Without any fussiness, Jean-Louis Trintignant expresses the helplessness of a husband watching his wife deteriorate. This film isn’t sweet in any way, but it’s also not overly harsh. Direct and unforced is more like it: Those two performances are the major reason why.

I completely believed Riva and Trintignant as a couple with a lot of years under its belt. They’re honest and direct with each other, even in the face of death. During the wife’s decline, the husband even smacks her after she spits her water at him. He subsequently apologizes, and you’re right there with him, emotionally, when he does.

This film revolves around memory and observation and how they play a central role in everyone’s life. That echoes the couple’s dedication to and love of music. Director Michael Haneke sets a deliberate pace; nothing in this film is rushed. This is appropriate for a film about the end of life, but not always completely engaging. However, when Haneke wants to give you a jolt, he does so expertly; nothing feels out of place.

Everything that happens in “Amour” is supported and clear, but I didn’t always feel it in my gut. Rather, I understood it, at a distance. In regards to the subtitles, they’re both specific and concise. Thankfully, they don’t get in the way. Most of this film takes place inside the couple’s apartment; even when there’s light, it’s muted. That’s appropriate for a film that reveals the sober truths of decades-long love. How do we face the inevitable?

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: amour)

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.