powermandan There's been lots of movies about retirees, but not much about senior citizens this old. Even when 'Amour' is compared to some of those, this will likely come up stronger.Georges and Anne Laurent are in their mid-80's. One day, Anne suffers a stroke which leads to a strong state of dementia. Her physical and mental health is deteriorating and will only get worse. Georges can can only sit by and watch his wife of over fifty years in chronic pain. It is pretty obvious how this ends, but we are still heartbroken beyond words when it does. So that's basically what the movie is about. It can be summarized into three lines without much else to say that's very crucial. So it may be a little basic and simple in its story and directing, but it has the power to shatter you. About one or two minutes of the entire film taking place outside their apartment. Most takes are very long. These two elements completely suck the viewer directly into the world of this married couple. I love it when movies take me into their world, but 'Amour' does it much deeper than most. After the viewer arrives into the Laurent apartment, the long takes make the viewer feel as if they are sitting in a chair watching Georges and Anne's lives unravel. And there are some moments of great camera work that is surprising considering it all takes place in an apartment.Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva give performances to behold. Their performances are beyond amazing. Even without the strong immersive quality, I would still have been amazed. Seeing Anne's deterioration and Georges' loss of patience and increase of emotional pain progress makes you feel like you are watching exactly what it being seen. You have to be reminded these are just two talented actors. There's a few other people that come to the apartment (including Isabelle Huppert who plays their daughter), but we focus on the two main characters. Here is a simple art-film that packs an enormous punch. Aside from being the best elderly movie ever, it might just be my favourite foreign language film of the decade thus far.

Iny Z (inyz) There's something truly genius in Michael Haneke's directing. The way he just hangs the camera and let the scene lives. Shots lasting a bit longer than necessary, but just enough so that you can find beauty in the mundane slices of life. Characters going out of field, only to make sound and off-field discussions interesting. Scenes themselves are intrigues. I don't see what they're seeing. What are they looking at? I don't see his face. How does he feel about this? It's just pure ingenuity in directing, without any artifice.But, after one hour of film, the unavoidable question kicks in: where is this headed? The title answers "Love", but the film answers "Death". The two are not mutually exclusive, and I think the movie tries to argue that the latter makes the former sublime. Yet, when came the realization that this is basically a documentary on slow deterioration to death, the realist style of directing that I liked so much at the beginning started to become the engine of a long nightmare.There's about no intrigue in this move apart from the whereabouts of the few characters and the connection between them. It's hard to imagine the movie keeping its spirit without being as stubborn as it is, so I guess it is as best as it can be for this core idea. But there's a limit to what I can handle.

bob the moo I knew very little about this film other than it having a good reputation, supposedly being moving, and the rough subject matter. I didn't know it was from Haneke or was in French – not because I do not pay attention, but mainly because I prefer to avoid knowing too much before I see things. In this case the direction of Haneke worked very well for me. It is cold and detached perhaps, but the observational eye is fine when it has something engaging to observe.In this case it is the strong performances of Trintignant and Riva which fill the screen and are compelling in their honesty and realism. In particular, the performance of Riva is fantastic – looking back it is unsurprising but yet still frustrating that Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress tat year for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. The two are convincing in their very different roles: Trintignant draws our sympathy and understanding, while Riva is utterly believable in her loss of self, and it is easy to feel her pain. The action stays around the flat, using the space well, and having great set design to give the feeling of an entire life in every corner of the space.In all of this the film was moving and engaging, even if the pace was very slow for the majority. The ending of the film gave me troubles though. We know it will end in death, but the manner of the death is the murder of his wife by Georges. The film's observational eye means this very much is allowed to stand without judgment, which therefore has the effect of silently condoning it. This casts a shadow over the role of carer and lover which Georges previously held, and it did turn the film for me somewhat. I liked that it allowed me to think it through for myself, but I didn't wholly appreciate the film keeping its distance in the way it did.Mostly Amour is as good as people say, thanks mainly to the two very strong performances. However, the pace is very slow, and the ending is a touch disturbing in how it is presented and handled.

Kirpianuscus a film about love. precise, honest, cruel, more than realistic. two great actors in magnificent roles , exploring the sides and levels and challenges of love as only way to be yourself. a strange end. and delicate art, high science of detail of an unique director who recreates laws and gestures and essence of words in a film who broke limits and use a form of poetry of small things who has the status of profound challenge. a film about the other reflected in yourself. about lost and about hope. about small gestures and about the past. a new version of Philemon and Baucis. out of gods' visit, with the same evolution from the legend.