It Was Easy to Fall in Love with "Amour"

If you are one who is given to wanting desperately to talk to somebody about a great film you just saw or write online on your internationally world-renowned blog about a film you just saw, then your fingers will be busy after you see “Amour.” My fingers are definitely busy at the moment. I keep going back and forth in my mind as to whether I think “Amour” or “Argo” is the best film of the ones I saw in 2012. Thank goodness both films have short titles and do not take long to type so , as a result, I can type on all day incessantly about how good they both are, making sure to type the name of the film I am writing about every third or fourth sentence so as to steady the flow of my craftsmanship of excellent writing to which you are currently a witness. That last sentence may not have been so great, but, as I have learned in life, not everything you want in life is truly achievable, no matter what some posters in offices may say.

I do not know if I will be able to successfully put into words how beautiful a film “Amour” is and how emotionally effecting it is, but at this point, I will begin my attempt. The main characters in “Amour,” the French-German co-production, directed by Michael Haneke, a husband and wife living in Paris, appear to be a very loving couple who share mutual interests. Anne (Emmanuelle Riva in a brilliant, hopefully Oscar-winning performance) is a retired music teacher and a concert pianist. Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant, also in a brilliant performance), Anne’s husband, is also retired. They live comfortably in their very nice Paris apartment. At the beginning of the film, as they are sitting at breakfast, Anne blanks out for about 3-4 minutes. She stares blankly into space and does not react to any of Georges’ questions or actions. Obviously, this is concerning to Georges and he schedules an appointment for Anne to see their doctor, one we learn they have seen for several years. As the film progresses, Anne’s health deteriorates little by little. Georges, though frustrated by what is happening to his wife, remains as calm as possible and as tender to Anne as he can. There are a few moments in the film in which both Anne and Georges display brief anger about what is going on and their frustration overwhelms them, however, the viewer is left with genuine compassion for both Anne and Georges as they try best to do what they can as Anne’s body and mind deteriorate. The performances by both Riva and Trintignant, as mentioned, are brilliant. I now feel that kind of compulsion that movie buffs love. I now want to see more films with these two performers. Trintignant has starred in many acclaimed films such as "A Man and a Woman,"(1966),"Z,"(1969),and "The Conformist"(1971). Riva was in the first film of Krzysztof Kieslowsi's Three Colors series, "Blue." One film in particular in which he starred sounds intriguing--"Hiroshima, Mon Amour" (1959), in which she plays a French actress, making a film in Hiroshima, who is married to a Japanese architect. This film is available from Criterion. There are several beautiful scenes in “Amour,” one of which is, while he is listening to a cd of a classical music piece in their music room, Georges imagines Anne is playing at the piano, playing what he is listening to on the cd. The final scenes in the film are stunningly beautiful as well. The film does not linger on anything. The audience knows what the film is about and how it will end. The opening scene of the film even gives the audience an idea of how the action of the film will end. It is structured wonderfully. Every scene is important. There is not a wasted bit of screen time in “Amour.” Each scene progresses the story and even when we watch a few scenes involving a pigeon that enters the apartment through a window, those scenes, though at first, seem odd, are found to be important scenes as well. There are not any moments in the brilliant screenplay that suggest infidelity, deceit, or any other indiscretions that may have easily derailed the film. “Amour,” as the title suggests, is about love. The film focuses on the love between Anne and Georges and what the husband and wife, the two lovers, go through as they age. There is never any doubt that Georges in love with Anne. Some of the realities that he faces as he cares for her may not be easy to watch for some, but there is nothing gratuitous or “gross” about those scenes. The screenplay assumes that the audience is intelligent enough to understand what has happened. The audience learns a lot about the relationship between Anne and Georges from the subtlety of the performances and from the audience’s own life experience. It is not a film that has to or feels the need to spell everything out for the audience. One goes into the film with the knowledge that it will be about how a loving elderly married couple handles one or the other’s approach towards the end of life.

“Amour” is not without a sense of humor as well. Throughout the film are bits of humor that show us the witty sense of humor that both Anne and Georges own. Even Anne,while she is nearing death, retains her wit. Georges, while on the surface, appears to be a man with a serious countenance, is written as a guy who enjoys the company of his wife and bounces his sense of humor off of her’s. One fantastic line in the film is spoken by their daughter, Eva, (wonderfully played by Isabelle Huppert). She tells her father that, when she was a child, she would listen at the door to Anne and Georges make love because the sound of it told her that her parents loved each other. There are few films that engage me as emotionally as did “Amour.” As I write this, I want very much to talk about the film with others who have seen it and feel as I do about the film. I even would like to discuss the film with anyone who was not as emotionally touched by the film. If you have ever been married or been in a committed relationship, you will surely love this film and be able to relate to the core ideas of the film. Anyone in a successful committed relationship has, at some point, considered and wondered about how the lives of both will end. Some may fear death and what is to come in the future as age lurks behind all of us. “Amour” is not about the fear of death or the acceptance of aging. It is about the love between two committed individuals and what Georges will do for Anne, the person he has loved and considered his best friend for life. It is a beautiful film, one I would have no problem watching again. My decision has been made! “Amour” is my favorite film of 2012. “Argo” is brilliant as well, but as “Amour” is a film about death that is full of life, life that stems from an outstanding, sad, and sincere screenplay and from flawless performances by Riva and Trintignant, I feel a stronger bond to it than to “Argo.” Both films are more than worthy of your time. “Amour,” I hope, will be considered a classic as it ages and will be seen as one of the best films about marriage and commitment in the history of film.