Amour

Amour

Starring Jean-Louis Trinitignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud

Directed by Michael Haneke

Long-married couple Georges (Jean-Louis Trinitignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are now retired piano instructors who still enjoy the music they once taught.  They're enjoying the retired life, until one morning Anne suffers a silent stroke, and after a failed surgery on a blocked artery, becomes paralyzed on her right side, confining her to a wheelchair.

Anne's fear of hospitals leads her to beg Georges to not send her to the hospital again, so he becomes her personal caretaker, despite their daughter Eva's (Isbaelle Huppert) pleas to send her to a nursing home.  Anne suffers a second stroke which leaves her bedridden, demented and incapable of speech.  This puts an even bigger strain on Georges, as he watches the love of his life slowly dying in front of him.

"Amour" received five nominations at the 2013 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and a nomination for Emmanuelle Riva as Best Actress, becoming the oldest woman ever to be nominated for that category.  It also easily won the Best Foreign Film Oscar that year.  It has also been nominated for 95 other awards and winning several, including the coveted Palme D'Or at Cannes.

It's no surprise this film has garnered such international praise, because it's downright amazing.  Not the average cup-of-tea for the general moviegoer, but for those who truly appreciate the art of cinema - from the acting, to the staging, filming, editing and writing - you won't be disappointed by this cinematic gem.

Deeply poignant, moving, and even depressing, "Amour" shows what a man will do for the love of his life, and the lengths he would go to make her happy, even during the most difficult times of her life. 

Jean-Louis Trinitignant is brilliant as Georges, the longsuffering husband who has to endure his wife's slow departure into death, while dealing with a daughter who doesn't seem to understand her mother's wishes.  His visibly stirring performance shows even through the silent moments the suffering he is going through watching the love of his life suffering, and it's downright heartbreaking.

Emmanuelle Riva absolutely lights up the screen, even though she doesn't talk through some of it, you can clearly see the emotion in her eyes, which makes your heart bleed.  Her frailty is shown from start to finish, as you see her deterioration you're visibly moved and as affected by it as Georges is, and that is a true hallmark of great acting, where you can be pulled into the film and palpably feel the pain they're going through.

The ending, especially, is quite difficult to watch, but showcases the central theme to how far one will go for the love - or "amour" - of his life.

My Rating: A+