Love (Amour)

Pain among the Wealthy

Ms. Hornaday is right on when she says Hanneke is becoming less gimlet-eyed and more human. Just look at Cache in contrast. In Amour, One "caregiver" is dismissed for incompetence. The scene is key for those of us who worry about what happens to loved ones when we are not around. We aren't sure why she dismissed; instead we watch her read the riot act by Georges. 2. The couple is well off. Hanneke has Georges flaunt Euros in large denominations. What about the rest of us ? As in Cache his target seems to be the upper middle class. JWP

A puzzling finale mars an otherwise brilliant Amour

Amour is the only film I have seen where I wish the critic had spoilers in her review. I left the theatre with literally a dozen questions as to what had happened on screen. So much did not make sense, and it left me bitter as I exited the screening. Which is a pity, as up to that point, the film was a masterpiece. Stark and simplistic, the film perfectly captures the lives of this elderly couple as they spend their golden years encountering heartaches and illness and misery. It makes you think how you would cope in such a circumstance, and how much you love your partner. There is no musical sountrack, and no showy technique with the camera. Just a look at the lives of this couple. The film is quite extraordinary until the empty ending.