Amour

Showtimes

Drawing on the extraordinary talents of two of the finest and most legendary performers in the history of French cinema — Jean-Louis Trintignant (Bertolucci’s The Conformist, Kieslowski’s Trois couleurs: Rouge) and Emmanuelle Riva (Resnais’ Hiroshima mon amour) — director Michael Haneke details the painful dilemma that confronts Anne and Georges Laurent, a married couple in their eighties, as one of them gradually succumbs to illness. Ensconced in an apartment that fits them like an old glove, settled happily into their long-established domestic routines, their world is upended when Anne suddenly displays symptoms of a stroke. With Anne now partially paralyzed, Georges struggles to care for her at home, with each day bringing new, ever more painful challenges. A visit from the couple’s dutiful daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert) only further indicates how distant Georges and Anne’s lives now are from the rest of the world — a private realm that grows ever more solitary as Anne slips slowly, unbearably away. Featuring exquisite performances from three of cinema’s greatest actors, Amour reveals a different dimension to Haneke’s vision. His script is a masterpiece of compassion and understanding, which unerringly touches all the right notes. It would have been easy to slip into the conventions of a tearjerker, something Haneke skillfully avoids to far more powerful effect. Full of surprises and consistently humane, this is a magisterial work from a brilliant artist who gazes fearlessly, unblinkingly into the soul. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWi56-YJVT4&hd=1

All Movies