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Amour (12A)

Amour (12A)

Drama

Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.


The critical consensus

Whether or not you need to be lectured on the uselessness of movie tears, the performances of the two astonishing French actors in Amour makes this a gripping and possibly provocative drama.

Siobhan Synnot, The Scotsman, 10/11/2012

While Haneke's trademark intelligence and rigour is apparent in every frame, the compassion he shows towards these characters feels new.

*****Philip Concannon, The Skinny, 12/11/2012

The cool-headed, almost documentary-like picture is boring for long stretches and didn’t move me at all.

Henry Fitzherbert, Daily Express, 15/11/2012

In some ways, Amour is a characteristic Michael Haneke film, unflinching, beady-eyed, beholden to nothing but itself. And yet it’s also touched by something unexpected. Who would have thought this film-maker had such tenderness in him?

****(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 15/11/2012

A painful chamber drama about the aftermath of a stroke for an octogenarian couple, Michael Haneke's second Palme d'Or winner still has his trademark chill.

*****Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 15/11/2012

The ageing process is just another indiscriminate threat, as brutal and unreasonable as the home invaders in Funny Games. For Haneke, love isn’t a comfort; it’s a death sentence.

**(*)(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 15/11/2012

The acting from these two legends of French cinema is quite superb.

*****Tim Robey, The Telegraph, 15/11/2012

Michael Haneke’s Palme D’Or winner is uncomfortable, uncompromising, unflinching... and utterly unmissable. Old age may not be a reality you wish to confront, but you must see this film.

*****David Hughes, Empire Online, 12/11/2012

Is Amour a ‘perfect’ film? Yes, but maybe not in a good way.

****(*)David Jenkins, Little White Lies, 15/11/2012

The entire enterprise is like a stunning ice sculpture, a thing of wonder yet fundamentally cold to the touch.

***(*)(*)Alison Rowat, The Herald, 15/11/2012

If you're adult enough to watch it, then you'll find Amour a profound and bracing experience – and one that, like it or not, will tell you more about your life (yes, yours, sooner or later) than you'd imagine cinema would ever dare.

*****Jonathan Romney, The Independent on Sunday, 18/11/2012

Michael Haneke's effortlessly graceful picture will come to be seen as one of the greatest films about the confrontation of death and ageing.

Philip French, The Observer, 18/11/2012

Quite simply, this is flawless cinema, addressing the obscurity of love and questioning the weight of its worth.

*****Andrew Latimer, TVBomb, 23/11/2012


Features about Amour (12A)

Michael Haneke: There's no easy way to say this...

Peter Conrad, The Observer, 04/11/2012

Emmanuelle Riva: 'You don't say no to a film like Amour'

Xan Brooks, The Guardian, 08/11/2012

Michael Haneke's Amour: is this the ultimate horror film?

Philip Horne, The Telegraph, 15/11/2012

Throwing new light on the pains and emotions of old age

James Mottram, The Herald, 08/11/2012

Where and when?

Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee from Friday November 23, 2012, until Thursday December 6, 2012. More info: www.dca.org.uk

Cameo, Edinburgh from Friday February 15, 2013, until Wednesday February 20, 2013. More info: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/

Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh from Friday February 22, 2013, until Sunday February 24, 2013. More info: www.filmhousecinema.com

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