Amour (2012)

I've heard that the latest crop of Academy Best Picture contenders is especially depressing. With that in mind, perhaps I should have given lower priority to this older nominee, which looked too dismal for my dad. Nevertheless, I rather wanted to complete another year's worth, and this was the only one from 2012 I hadn't seen yet.

In modern Paris, Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are an elderly couple. Their life seems pleasant enough, until Anne has a stroke that leaves her unresponsive for several minutes. She gets surgery to unblock her carotid artery, but it's a rare failure case, so she needs a wheelchair thereafter. She makes Georges promise never to send her back to the hospital or on to a nursing home. Alas, it's hard to find good help elsewhere, so he struggles to support her on his own. Each one, at times, expresses a sentiment that they'd both be better off with her finishing dying.

I might as well tell you something of how it ends, because that's right in the nonchronological first scene: Anne is found dead in a room that was sealed from the outside. Details come later, but I already surmised the gist. Georges makes questionable decisions well before then, such as trying to keep their daughter (Isabelle Huppert) in the dark to spare Anne the embarrassment of her condition.

This "spoiler" start may actually have helped stave off my would-be depression. By knowing what to expect, I could take the bad news as it unfolded. It was hardly uplifting, but neither did it wear me down. Your mileage may vary.

Looking back, I see that I had considered dropping this film after another Michael Haneke work. It does have some of the same signatures: tragedy; a few long, unmoving shots; deliberate pacing (I wasn't kidding about the several minutes); a protagonist named Georges; no clear heroes or villains; barely signaled flashbacks or imagination sequences; and almost no music. This time, however, the elements served less to puzzle or annoy me and more to make the gestalt feel extra realistic. Well, Haneke did base the story partly on his aunt's.

The scarcity of music may have served an additional purpose or two. Georges and Anne are former piano teachers. All the music left in their lives is from either a successful past student, a recording of themselves, or their memories. Eventually, they don't even want to dwell on it. Also, when there's no sound whatsoever during the opening credits, you know the movie will be either low-budget or dire. Or both, in this case.

I appreciate the numerous honors for Amour and did not mind watching. But you probably shouldn't watch if you know anyone in a similar scenario. Or, of course, if you simply need a pick-me-up.