Amour

2012

Written and directed by Michael Haneke
Cast: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Isabelle Huppert

This year’s winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of the latter stages of life that are seldom portrayed on the big screen.

Anne (Riva) and Georges (Trintignant) are a retired elderly couple whose lifelong love is put to the test when Anne suffers a stroke and her physical and mental condition gradually worsen.  

For those who are familiar with Haneke’s work, a film about a loving married couple may seem an odd choice, but Amour is no sentimental and romantic piece of cinema.  Far from sugar-coating the details or resorting to a portrayal of the couple’s young love in a soppy Notebook style, Amour is frighteningly truthful: as Georges holds his wife’s face in his hands, devoid of emotion and response, the reality of old age cannot be escaped.

This does not only arise from the sincerity of the French veteran actors’ performances (both of whom were honoured at this weekend’s European Film Awards), but through Haneke’s techniques which force you to accept the truth of the situation. For just over two hours, you feel as confined in the couple’s apartment as the failing Anne herself, never seeing the light of day or escaping to a happier past; a few quick flicks of a photo album do little to brighten the couple or the audience’s mood. Each scene lingers, held on those few additional moments, and you find yourself part of the on-going struggle into which this normal couple are unwillingly thrown.

The absence of a soundtrack contributes to this realism; you cannot distract yourself through a romantic melody. Instead, you are obliged to watch every emotion and hear every painful utterance.  The lack of natural light further adds to this confinement and gives a faded tint to each scene, reflecting upon the characters’ fading days.

Riva and Trintignant completely embody their characters to such an extent that they do not seem to be acting; they could be your grandparents, your elderly neighbours or, as is the case for one character, your former teachers.  George asks his wife what she would do if she were in his shoes, and thus Haneke indirectly asks this to the audience itself.  Perhaps you’ll put yourself in the shoes of Eva, the daughter who fails to come to terms with her mother’s condition and the way in which her father handles it, or perhaps you’ll become the partner whose emotional suffering matches that of Anne’s physical distress. The controversial debate on the morality of euthanasia once again finds ground, this time more relatable than ever.

This is a story that affects us all but is rarely given screen-time in our youth-focused culture. With no tricks or thrills, Haneke gives the most realistic portrayal of life’s inevitable and often melancholic conclusion whose power is uncomfortable and unforeseen. When the credits rolled, the cinema was silent.

Holy Motors

"...for the beauty of the act" 

2012
Director/Writer: Leos Carax 
Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scobb, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue  

The first film from the French director in over 13 years, Holy Motors is innovative, original and all-out bonkers.  

We follow a day in the life of the mysterious Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) as he travels around Paris in a white limousine for a series of appointments, each requiring a different character transformation. Whether it be a begging old woman, an over-protective father or a dying man, Carax offers no explanations. 

From the beginning clips of the birth of cinema and 

shots of the director himself wondering into a movie theatre, with a boarhound I might add (you get used to unexplained occurrences...), Holy Motors is filled with abundant film references, particularly to French cinema. Kylie Minogue is a tribute to Jean Seberg, Godard’s heroine in the classic New Wave film Breathless and Edith Scobb as Oscar’s chauffer Céline embodies her own character in Eyes Without A Face (keep getting reminded of that film...) when she puts on the very mask from the 1960 horror. Don’t worry, though, Carax slips in a possible reference to the Pixar hit Cars to appeal to the wider audience. 

The style of this film is its best feature as the cinematography are effects often spellbinding: a motion capture suit leaping around a room, the camera swiftly panning around a graveyard, the streets of Paris slowly acquiring a green glow. The music is perfectly paired with scenes and the lyrics of  Minogue’s song (“Who were we? Who were we? When we were who we were back then?”) add to the intrigue and enigma of her character and relationship with one of Oscar’s many identities. 

Many scenes are void of much dialogue but it is the thought-provoking discourses between an alarmingly stern father and his daughter, Oscar and his supposed employer and a dying man and his niece that the film has its most poignant moments. The curiosity that comes with the film’s first half is partly lost during later scenes but Lavant’s brilliant performance of each and every character is so compelling that you cannot switch off. 

It cannot be denied, though, Holy Motors is one strange film. It is perhaps too strange for the average cinema-goer who may not understand the numerous cinematic references and is used to a traditional film structure with explanations of a mysterious plot. Many scenes are shocking, the flower/hair eating fiend that is Monsieur Merde’s (revived from Tokyo) segment is particularly so as he takes the supermodel Kay M (Mendes) into his lair; its peculiarity and lengthy nature easily alienating some viewers. 

Make what you wish of Oscar’s transformations but it is evident that Carax does not want you to over-think this film. You need to forget the conventions of realist dramas and just be transported on this bizarre journey, realising that your questions may never be answered. There is one thing for certain, though: you won’t see another film like it this year.

Rust and Bone

De Rouille et D’os

2012

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writer: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, 

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts

Nominated for the prestigious Palme D’or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard, director of 2009’s tour de force, A Prophet, returns to the international stage with a simply told yet powerful love story. 

A brief meeting in a night club transforms itself into a strong yet turbulent relationship as killer whale trainer Stéphanie (Cotillard) calls upon the help of struggling single father and aspirational fighter Alain after she loses her legs in a tragic accident.

Free from Hollywood’s constraints and its often sentimental love stories, Rust and Bone is intelligent and fresh as stunning cinematography accompanies the film’s thought-provoking plot and emotional sequences. Cotillard’s terrific performance, particularly compelling when Stéphanie learns of her fate, will most likely garner her a number of nominations this award season but Schoenaerts’ portrayal is equally as honest and moving. 

8/10