Amour (Michael Haneke)

[Ivan Drago]

Well, I saw it. Now I'm sad.

[Yxklyx]

I did not like this film at all.

[Spinal]

I finally got around to this. Haneke is one of my most admired directors. However, I've always had the feeling that, just by knowing what this film was about, that I could essentially picture the film that he'd make. In addition, I had seen Happy End, which I had not realized beforehand was connected to the same fictional family. Because of information revealed in that later film, I knew exactly where Amour was heading.

Seeing the two films out of order, it seems very strange that one received the Palme D'Or and 5 Oscar nominations, while the other received lukewarm reviews and little awards attention. They are certainly comparable in quality. I suppose Amour gets at its point in a more straightforward way that is hard to ignore. Happy End is a little more complicated and coy. I think I might actually prefer the latter.

Nonetheless, Emmanuelle Riva's performance is thoroughly believable and heart-breaking. And the film itself is honest in showing Georges to be a flawed human being in an impossible situation. He is not a picture of compassion. But the depth of his love does come across. I'm surprised so many people were willing to 'nay' this one on the poll.