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2012 Director: Michael Haneke
2012 Director: Michael Haneke
This is a perfect example of the director elevating the material. The narrative is simple. A couple growing old together, one of them gets ill, and the other has to watch the person they have given everything to fade away. Haneke engages us beyond this simple narrative however. He does so visually and by always keeping the complexities of the story at arms length.
Haneke's static shots are perfect, as they always are. Most of the film takes place in the couples apartment but that doesn't keep the film from being beautiful to look at. The furniture, the way a door is painted, the kitchen, or the bookcase in the living room. I have never been so enamored with the mundane the way I am when viewing a Haneke film. I also loved the way that the first scene in Amour mirrors the final scene in Cache. You have a simple static shot full of people. In the case of Amour it takes place in a theater. We just spend a short couple of minutes watching people in it exist, but it is mesmerizing. Of course we are searching for someone we know, and eventually you find them. The point is it doesn't matter if you find them or not. They are just existing in this space like all of those around them.
Haneke also has such a unique style to his story telling. We are introduced to a couple of people who have been a part of this couples life. One is a student and the other is their daughter. It is obvious that they have effected both of these peoples life in both a positive and negative manner. Haneke never gives us enough to let us know exactly how but just enough for us to have something to chew on. Ultimately I think he wants us to draw our own conclusions, to fill in the blanks. Most of the time this would be a strategy that would annoy me and remove me from the film, but somehow with a Haneke film it mostly works.
I think that the ending of this film is one that could spark some controversy. There have been other films that have ended in a similar manner, and I feel that it works. In real life such an ending would be appalling, but when taken in the context of storytelling I think it is effective. Like the other Haneke films I have seen I really liked Amour, however I can't help but feel that if he would just give me a little more to grab hold of I would be in love with his films.
Haneke's static shots are perfect, as they always are. Most of the film takes place in the couples apartment but that doesn't keep the film from being beautiful to look at. The furniture, the way a door is painted, the kitchen, or the bookcase in the living room. I have never been so enamored with the mundane the way I am when viewing a Haneke film. I also loved the way that the first scene in Amour mirrors the final scene in Cache. You have a simple static shot full of people. In the case of Amour it takes place in a theater. We just spend a short couple of minutes watching people in it exist, but it is mesmerizing. Of course we are searching for someone we know, and eventually you find them. The point is it doesn't matter if you find them or not. They are just existing in this space like all of those around them.
Haneke also has such a unique style to his story telling. We are introduced to a couple of people who have been a part of this couples life. One is a student and the other is their daughter. It is obvious that they have effected both of these peoples life in both a positive and negative manner. Haneke never gives us enough to let us know exactly how but just enough for us to have something to chew on. Ultimately I think he wants us to draw our own conclusions, to fill in the blanks. Most of the time this would be a strategy that would annoy me and remove me from the film, but somehow with a Haneke film it mostly works.
I think that the ending of this film is one that could spark some controversy. There have been other films that have ended in a similar manner, and I feel that it works. In real life such an ending would be appalling, but when taken in the context of storytelling I think it is effective. Like the other Haneke films I have seen I really liked Amour, however I can't help but feel that if he would just give me a little more to grab hold of I would be in love with his films.