Amour review

 Number 450 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Michael Haneke's French psychological drama 'Amour.'

Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) Laurent are former music teachers and elderly couple in Paris. When Anne suffers a stroke that leaves her unable to take care of herself, Georges dutifully accepts the role of carer. However, the stress of the work becomes too much for the both of them.

Upon directing this film, Michael Haneke constantly reminded his cast to avoid over-sentimentality at all costs. This is what stopped the film from being a cheesy love story. Instead it was an utter devastating tragedy. Like Georges, I worked as a carer, so I saw first-hand how this stress can impact a couple's relationship.

I can attest there was nothing corny or overly-romanticised in Amour. We saw the authentic side of caring in all its brutal detail. We also saw the pour of amour - French for love - nowhere was this more present than in the relationship between Georges and Anne. Amour was the perfect title for the film - if you are taking care of a loved one, you need nothing less than love itself. And to allow somebody to take care of you, you need to trust and love somebody implicitly. It was obvious Georges and Anne loved each other unconditionally.

This was obvious from Trintigant's and Riva's excellent characterisations. Anne was obviously in an awful situation. Nobody ever wants to suffer like she does, but despite being in a pitiful situation, she wasn't a pitiable character. Riva played her with the utmost humanity. Despite being in a sorry situation, she never surrenders her humanity. Not once. It was this brilliant portrayal that saw her win the BAFTA and Caesar award as well as receiving an Oscar nod.

Trintignant was equally good as Georges. As Anne's carer, the stress quickly takes its toll - his position is almost as bad as his wife's. Yet similarly to Anne - although we feel sorry for Georges, Georges is not a sorry character. He remains faithful to his wife all the way up the shock ending that I didn't see coming. Just like Riva, Trintignant also won the Caesar award for his portrayal of Georges.

Amour was a powerful but tragic film which depicted one of the hardest parts of life with the utmost humanity. And if my praise wasn't enough, it also won the Best International Film Oscar. Well-deserved.