Amour DVD Review

Director: Michael Haneke

Starring:  Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert

Running Time: 127 minutes

Certificate: 12

Extras: Introduction by Philippe Rouyer, co-author of ‘Haneke by Haneke’, The making of AMOUR, Jean-Louis Trintignant talks about AMOUR, Trailer

Hankies at the ready. Michael Haneke’s award-winning French language film AMOUR is an intimate and intense exploration of the sad fact that opening yourself up to love means you will suffer loss somewhere along the way.

AMOUR focuses on married octogenarians Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anna (Emmanuelle Riva), whose lives are changed irreversibly when Anna suffers a series of strokes resulting in partial paralysis. Any hope of recovery is soon dashed as we witness her losing control of her body and mind.

Unafraid of his subject Haneke opens with the conclusion of the story; fireman breaking into the apartment and finding Anna’s corpse laid out in her best dress, surrounded by flowers like Millais’ painting of the drowning Ophelia. The rest of the narrative is an extended flashback as we fill the gaps of Anna’s final months. The journey holds some uncomfortable discoveries, and there is a sense of voyeurism as we watch a loving marriage affected by ill-health and infirmity. This is perhaps unsurprising from a film unafraid to ask about the nature of love, what we leave behind and how we too might cope or act in Georges’ situation.

As AMOUR develops and we’re trapped inside Georges and Anna apartment, claustrophobia grows. A solitary scene at the beginning is filmed beyond these four walls and our only experience of outside life comes with a knock at the door. Extended, often static shots and the lack of non-diegetic music slow the pace adding to the sense of isolation as the couples personal tragedy  creeps forward against the minutiae of everyday life. This may be a universal story but the experience is theirs alone.

Veteran actors Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant are both astounding. Riva seems to age before our eyes, her face suddenly mask-like and vacant, and Trintignant also undergoes a staggering transformation. Forced to be the stronger one it’s a real bombshell when we see him so vulnerable, struggling to push himself to his feet after catching a pigeon that’s flown into the flat.

AMOUR pulls no punches in its depiction of love and ageing, but it’s a challenging, intelligent and ultimately rewarding watch.

Extras: A short interview reveals how Hankele based the film on personal experience (when his aunt was dying), but longer features on the making of AMOUR and Jean-Louis Trintignant’s experience on set make fascinating viewing. You really get a sense of Haneke’s vision for this piece of cinema.

AMOUR is available on DVD & Blu-Ray from 18^h March