Amour

"C'est beau."

"Que?"

"La vie."

Amour is the story of an elderly couple, Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) and Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), who are each other's world.  When Anne suffers a stroke and begins to show symptoms of both physical and mental deterioration, they are thrown the greatest test.

The leads' performances are outstanding: perfectly capturing the heartache, struggle and disintegration of a couple within their difficult position.  This produces an account that is at once convincing and uncomfortable.  The film's realism is further heightened by long, lingering scenes that create an intimate, but intrusive, portrait of Anne.  There is no doubt that Amour is worthy of each its Academy Award nominations.  But as the situation unfolds, it becomes increasingly difficult to watch and it is impossible to draw pleasure from this perfectly crafted film.

Stylistically and technically, Amour is an incredible piece of cinema, driven by its exceptionally strong leads.  However, Michael Haneke's blunt and uncompromising filmmaking produces an indisputably bleak and depressing picture.