Amour is a 2012 French-language romantic drama film written and directed by the Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke. The narrative focuses on an elderly couple, Anne and Georges, who are retired music teachers with a daughter who lives abroad. Anne suffers a stroke which paralyses her on the right side of her body. Coping with his wife’s deteriorating condition puts enormous strain on Georges who wants to preserve her dignity and keep her home despite opposition from their daughter

Amour was screened at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, and it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film At the age of 85, Emmanuelle Riva, playing Anne, is the oldest nominee for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

The starting point for Haneke’s reflections was the suicide of his 90-year-old aunt, who had raised him. According to Haneke, she was suffering under heavy rheumatism and lived the last years alone in her apartment, because she did not want to be placed in a nursing home. She had even asked the director unsuccessfully for euthanasia. This movie has complex moral layers that force viewers to consider very tough questions.

127 minutes