AMOUR (LOVE) - A 2012 FRENCH FILM
AMOUR (LOVE) - A 2012 FRENCH FILM
Amour is a 2012 French-language romantic drama film written and directed by the Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva and Isabelle Huppert.
Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are retired classical-music teachers savoring their golden years in a comfortable apartment in Paris when Anne experiences a stroke that leaves her partially paralyzed. As devoted Georges struggles with the formidable task of becoming Anne's full-time caretaker, a visit from their adult daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert) reaffirms just how secluded from society the highly educated couple have become since retiring.
Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple who are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.
That incident begins Anne's harrowing 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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SYNOPSIS :
After residents of a Paris apartment building complain of a smell coming from one of the apartments, a brigade of firemen and police break down its door to find the corpse of Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) lying on a bed, adorned with cut flowers.
Several months before the opening scene, Anne and her husband Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), both retired piano teachers in their eighties, attend a performance by one of Anne's former pupils, Alexandre. They return home to find that someone has unsuccessfully tried to break into their apartment. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, Anne silently suffers a stroke. She sits in a catatonic state, not responding to Georges. She comes around as Georges is about to get help, but has no idea the stroke occurred. Georges is unable to persuade her to get medical attention until Anne finds she is unable to pour herself a drink.
Anne undergoes surgery on a blocked carotid artery, but the surgery goes wrong, leaving her paralyzed on her right side and confined to a wheelchair. She makes Georges promise not to send her back to the hospital or to a nursing home. Georges becomes Anne's dutiful, though slightly irritated, caretaker. One day, Anne, seemingly having attempted to commit suicide by falling from a window, tells Georges she doesn't want to go on living.
Alexandre, her former pupil whose performance they attended, stops by and Anne gets dressed up and carries on a lively conversation during the visit, giving Georges hope that her condition was temporary. But she soon suffers a second stroke that leaves her demented and incapable of coherent speech. Georges continues to look after Anne, despite the strain it puts on him.
Georges begins employing a nurse three days a week. Their daughter, Eva (Isabelle Huppert), wants her mother to go into care, but Georges says he will not break the promise he made to Anne. He employs a second nurse, but fires her after he discovers she is mistreating Anne.
One day, Georges sits next to Anne's bedside and tells her a story of his childhood, which calms her. As he reaches the story's conclusion, he picks up a pillow and smothers her.
Georges returns home with bundles of flowers in his hands, which he proceeds to wash and cut. He picks out a dress from Anne's wardrobe and writes a long letter. He tapes the bedroom door shut and catches a pigeon that has flown in through the window. In the letter Georges explains that he has released the pigeon. Georges imagines that Anne is washing dishes in the kitchen and, speechless, he gazes at her as she cleans up and prepares to leave the house. Anne calls for Georges to bring a coat, and he complies, following her out of the door.
The film concludes with a continuation of the opening scene, with Eva seated in the living room after wandering around the now empty home.
With towering performances and an unflinching script from Michael Haneke, Amour represents an honest, heart wrenching depiction of deep love and responsibility.
In typical Haneke fashion, it leaves us with a deluge of questions about aging, dying, grief, and of course, love, but never dares to give an answer to any of them.
In a far more subtle fashion, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva give an octogenarian master class in acting.
This is a film that is hard to watch at times because of its realistic portrait of a couple in their final years, but it is one that should be seen. It's a love story that will stay with you long after you've left the theater.
Michael Haneke born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, German, and English and has worked in television and theater, as well as cinema. He also teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna.
Michael Haneke has won many awards for script-writing and film direction.
His twelfth and most recent film, Happy End, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won the award.
If you wanted to say something romantic like “Good morning, my love” in French, you'd say “Bonjour mon amour".
That incident begins Anne's harrowing 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.
.jpeg)
SYNOPSIS :
After residents of a Paris apartment building complain of a smell coming from one of the apartments, a brigade of firemen and police break down its door to find the corpse of Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) lying on a bed, adorned with cut flowers.
Several months before the opening scene, Anne and her husband Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), both retired piano teachers in their eighties, attend a performance by one of Anne's former pupils, Alexandre. They return home to find that someone has unsuccessfully tried to break into their apartment. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, Anne silently suffers a stroke. She sits in a catatonic state, not responding to Georges. She comes around as Georges is about to get help, but has no idea the stroke occurred. Georges is unable to persuade her to get medical attention until Anne finds she is unable to pour herself a drink.
Anne undergoes surgery on a blocked carotid artery, but the surgery goes wrong, leaving her paralyzed on her right side and confined to a wheelchair. She makes Georges promise not to send her back to the hospital or to a nursing home. Georges becomes Anne's dutiful, though slightly irritated, caretaker. One day, Anne, seemingly having attempted to commit suicide by falling from a window, tells Georges she doesn't want to go on living.
Alexandre, her former pupil whose performance they attended, stops by and Anne gets dressed up and carries on a lively conversation during the visit, giving Georges hope that her condition was temporary. But she soon suffers a second stroke that leaves her demented and incapable of coherent speech. Georges continues to look after Anne, despite the strain it puts on him.
Georges begins employing a nurse three days a week. Their daughter, Eva (Isabelle Huppert), wants her mother to go into care, but Georges says he will not break the promise he made to Anne. He employs a second nurse, but fires her after he discovers she is mistreating Anne.
One day, Georges sits next to Anne's bedside and tells her a story of his childhood, which calms her. As he reaches the story's conclusion, he picks up a pillow and smothers her.
Georges returns home with bundles of flowers in his hands, which he proceeds to wash and cut. He picks out a dress from Anne's wardrobe and writes a long letter. He tapes the bedroom door shut and catches a pigeon that has flown in through the window. In the letter Georges explains that he has released the pigeon. Georges imagines that Anne is washing dishes in the kitchen and, speechless, he gazes at her as she cleans up and prepares to leave the house. Anne calls for Georges to bring a coat, and he complies, following her out of the door.
The film concludes with a continuation of the opening scene, with Eva seated in the living room after wandering around the now empty home.
With towering performances and an unflinching script from Michael Haneke, Amour represents an honest, heart wrenching depiction of deep love and responsibility.
In typical Haneke fashion, it leaves us with a deluge of questions about aging, dying, grief, and of course, love, but never dares to give an answer to any of them.
In a far more subtle fashion, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva give an octogenarian master class in acting.
This is a film that is hard to watch at times because of its realistic portrait of a couple in their final years, but it is one that should be seen. It's a love story that will stay with you long after you've left the theater.
Michael Haneke born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, German, and English and has worked in television and theater, as well as cinema. He also teaches film direction at the Film Academy Vienna.
Michael Haneke has won many awards for script-writing and film direction.
His twelfth and most recent film, Happy End, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won the award.
If you wanted to say something romantic like “Good morning, my love” in French, you'd say “Bonjour mon amour".
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