Film Review: Amour

Directed by: Michael Haneke. Stars: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert. Written by: Michael Haneke. Released: February 2013

The first I heard about Amour was back in May 2012, when it won the Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.  The second time was during TIFF ’12 (not including the buzz about the film) as I was waiting for Anna Karenina to start, one film critic was talking to another who was going to watch it later and was being warned on how “heavy and emotional” the film is.

Heavy and emotional indeed.

I don’t remember that last time I cried during a film, and I do mean cry and not just get choked up.

The story of an elderly married couple and long retired music teachers, Anne and Georges, after Anne suffers from a stroke leaving her partially paralyzed and her health steadily declines. Georges out of utter love and devotion decides to be the one to take care of her. Visits from their daughter and a former student only serve to reaffirm their isolation from modern society.

Outside of the opening scene, the film takes place inside their apartment. I find it refreshing when a film (or play) takes place in one setting and there is a challenge to it as well for those involved. The setting of the small apartment not only works as a metaphor for Anne and George’s isolation, it becomes more cluttered and cramp looking as the film progresses and adds to that feel. Even medical supplies gather as Anne’s health worsens.  I loved how lived in the apartment looked. The books, music, furniture, dishes scattered all around and the objects that are collected throughout life are all there. Even mold in the grout of the bathroom tiles.  In one scene Anne is looking through old photo albums, in a small but crucial detail, the pictures of a young Anne and Georges are (pretty unmistakably) a young Emmanuelle Riva and Jean Louis-Trintignant. Not the first time this has been done, but it is such a lovely detail that helps add an extra layer to the film and story.

The performances and chemistry of Emmanuelle Riva and Jean Louis- Trintignant is all you want and ask for in a film like this. There is a reason after all why the film is titled Amour and if you didn't have that connection then the film would not work.

Emmanuelle Riva deservingly receives an Oscar nomination and should, but tragically won’t win.  Her ability to portray Anne pre and post stroke, the physical and mental and all emotional elements involved is up there with Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot, Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man, Geoffrey Rush in Shine or even Leonardo DiCaprio in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape to name a few. It is a rich and powerful powerful performance that won't be easily forgotten. 

Equally deserving but sadly overlooked, is the performance of Jean Louis-Trintignant. Although not the stroke victim, it is equally challenging playing a devoted husband turned full time nurse. Georges is not a young man which only adds to his struggle, that wouldn't be easy for anyone at any age to take on. The spectrum of emotions he shows from love, devotion, determination, anger, sadness and frustration, all weigh on him and manifests in his own physical appearance and mental/emotional decline.  My heart broke every time Georges would say “sweetheart” even while feeding mashed up food to his wife or changing her adult diaper. 

Amour is not an easy film to watch. It is heavy and emotionally rollercoaster with powerful performances, and a story that anyone to some degree can relate to. Be prepared for a “heavy” film, but completely worth it in the end. 

L' Amour!

"Love is a fan club with only two fans." — Gore Vidal 

In  honour of this day set aside for love, a list and a celebration of some of the greatest and memorable depictions of love in film.

According to me anyway...

I have to start with one of my first memories of seeing love on film. Aladidn is also the first movie I remember seeing in a theatre. One of the cutest scenes  is Aladdin talking about Jasmine to Genie.

Who doesn't want someone gushing and getting all flustered and excited when their beauty is being described. 

Here we go! To get things started...Young/First love. 

Romeo and Juliet

Not my favourite Shakespeare play, but I obviously cannot write about love and film without the most famous example of first love/young love and its all consuming nature. How unforgettable it is and becomes part of us. Even if doesn't last.

Romeo & Juliet (1996)

I was OBSESSED with this movie when came out...seriously. I had the soundtrack on repeat and majority of the lines memorized. I quickly bought a copy of the play (I still have it) and pictured myself as Juliet...yeah I’ll admit to it...and most other girls did too.

Director Baz Luhrmann originally wanted Natalie Portman as Juliet, but she and her parents did not feel comfortable with her at 15 doing a love scene with an older actor. Although Juliet is 14 in the play.

This was also my first experience of a celebrity crush. The first shot of a then 22 year old Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo gave me goosebumps. It still makes my pre-teen heart all a flutter. AND THEN HE SPEAKS SHAKESPEARE!! 

I also would have given anything to be on the other side of that fish tank!

A shout out to the also awesome 1968 Franco Zeffirelli film. Olivia Hussey is a gorgeous Juliet.           

                                      

And later this year (October in the UK, not sure about N.A.) we will be getting a new adaptation of the classic story, with Douglass Booth and Hailey Steinfeld in the titled roles, along with an impressive supporting cast (such as Paul Giamatti as Friar Lawrence.)   

Moonrise Kingdome (2012)

“What kind of bird are YOU?”

How could you watch this film and NOT route for Sam and Suzy! Two pre-teens that attempt to find solace and acceptance in their lives through each other as they feel the world close in around them. They connect right away and  understand each other as no one else can. Although they are children, the two seem to have a maturity that is lacking in the adults in their lives. The sweetness along with the awkwardness of first love with first time actors Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward is so richly depicted and fits perfectly with director Wes Anderson’s style.

And the symbolism of Suzy “getting her ears pierced” by Sam is just priceless.

In the end Suzy sums up the film and puts it simply as only a child can: “We just want to be together. What’s so wrong what that?” 

Let the Right One In (2008)

Director Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of Let the Right One In came out the same year as Twilight and it got lost in the hoopla, also based on a book but it stands apart and delves deeper than your average vampire/ horror film.

Set in the bleak winter nights of Stockholm, Sweden adds an appropriate atmosphere and tone for a horror film, but also helps the viewer to feel as cold and isolated as the characters.

The heart of the film is the relationship between Oskar, who is bullied at school, and his new neighbour Eli, who happens to be a vampire and eternally twelve years old. They give each other companionship, comfort and safety, but more importantly, a sense of normalcy and love.  We even get a sense of the parent’s perspective (Eli’s ‘father’) along with the burden and sacrifice a parent is willing to make for their child.

Through this relationship the story explores the dilemma of being a child forever, the innocence and guilt despite possessing the fierceness and power of a vampire. The dark thoughts that come with being bullied and feeling helpless and alone. 

It is a coming of age film without a real resolution or a tremendous sense of hope at the end.  The audience is left unsure of Oskar and Eli’s future and what it holds for them. After all is said and done, they are left with only each other.

Sidenote: Check out the 2010 Hollywood remake Let Me In. Good in its own way and keeps with the spirit of the original, if a slightly unnecessary remake. 

The Princess Bride (1987)

Yes! This is completely cheesy and ridiculous, but don’t tell me that the heart and point of the film isn't a love story; a story about Buttercup and her “farm-boy” (aka Wesley.)

Despite being separated and the trials they both go through, they each never give up the belief that they will be reunited. In the end it is a fairly tale and they live happily ever after.

“My Wesley will come for me”

Benny & Joon (1993)

“And I would walk 500 hundred miles, and I would walk 500 hundred more. Just to be the man, who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.”

Okay, that is not an actual line from the film, but the soundtrack...still.

Everyone is deserving of love, and before Silver Linings Playbook made mental illness fun and quirky there was Sam, a shy, awkward and simple guy, with a gift for re-enacting Buster Keaton’s signature physical comedy. Joon is suffering from a mental/emotional illness and has a artistic and creative side. They meet and find a way of communicating, understanding and taking care of one another in a way that her over protective brother Benny has trouble understanding and accepting. The film is also about the love between a brother and a sister who must let go of their past in order to move on to a healthy future.

*sigh* Johnny Deep in his prime before Jack Sparrow and Disney got to him.

Jane Eyre (2010)

I’m one of the few that prefers Jane Eyre over Pride and Prejudice (not that I don’t like Pride and Prejudice.) I like the darker tone and angst (hence my bias to the 2010 adaptation) that is part of the story. Although this is more a story about Jane Eyre and her life, the romance is what tends to be remembered the most.

I like my male characters brooding, wounded and mysterious with an egotistical side as well, so I’ll take Mr. Rochester over Mr. Darcy any day.

And yes, I'm fully aware he lies. 

I love the chemistry and intensity between Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender as seen in this clip, after Jane saves Rochester from a fire in his room. 

 Casablanca (1942)

The story of Rick and Ilsa and how they can’t be together is a classic. The memory of their brief time in Paris before the war keeps them going yet torments them at the same time, in particular Rick. He manages to bury his feelings for Ilsa (with drink) until one day “of all the gin joints” she walks in with her husband Victor, a key figure in the war and wanted by the Nazi’s.  Rick ironically is also their only hope to escape.

Personal happiness collides with the greater good. As the famous saying goes, “if you love someone, set them free.”

I also love the way Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman.) look at one another throughout the film. 

Legends of the Fall (1994)

I’m not going to lie that one of the reasons I love the name Tristan (played buy a young Brad Pitt)  is because of this movie. 

It is a sweeping epic of a film that spans years and focuses on the lives of three brothers, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel Ludlow. They are all different yet fall for Susannah who is originally engaged to Samuel. War, death, prohibition, politics and family ties are all explored in this melodrama.  The romance between the troubled Tristan and Susannah is a huge focus and the push and pull between them and the repercussions. It may be a little over the top with the drama of the Ludlow family, but you can’t help but get all wrapped up in it.  

                                           

Love Story (1970)

It says it right there in the title. This is more for my mother, who has told me numerous times this is one of her favourite movies and still hums the famous theme song to this day. I’m sure many women of her generation feel the same as well. She even wore black turtle necks and long dark hair-a la Ali MacGraw.

 They story about Jenny Cavilleri and Oliver Barrett IV is your classic story of class and ethnic backgrounds colliding, and follows their life together in what is considered one of the great tear tearjerkers.

Bring kleenex and remember that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

City of Lights (1931)

If you have never watched a Charlie Chaplin film (shame on you!) this is a good one to start with. Not as comedic as Modern Times or The Gold Rush for example, but you get a sense of Chaplin’s style and his famous Tramp character.

It is a sweet story of how the Tramp is mistaken by a blind girl for a millionaire (the Tramp’s friend.) A romance starts between the two and when her rent is due, and an opportunity for an operation to cure her blindness comes up, he sets out to find the money and a series of unfortunate events unfold. Does he come up with the money and how will see react if she finds out he’s not a millionaire?

Only one way to find out is to watch. It is a very sweet story.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

I don’t care that this involves two gay men, in the end it is a heartbreaking love story done with an honest and brave attempt to be sincere by Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger; with better chemistry and realism than any Jennifer Aniston or Kate Hudson romantic-comedy. The tragedy comes from personal fears, insecurities and societal pressure/expectations and ignorance of the time that result with  Jack and Ennis unable to be together beyond one summer and a few stolen moments throughout the years.   

I get all sad just remembering what is in Ennis’s closet.

I could go on but this would one LONG list, as I’m sure there are tons that I have missed anyway or have not even seen yet. So here are some other great love stories as depicted on the silver screen.

The English Patient (1996)

The scene when Almsay carries Katherine on the mountain...beautiful!

Walk the Line (2005)

The real Johnny Cash died four months after June Carter Cash. 

Like Water for Chocolate (1992)

Tita unable to be with Pedro due to a family tradition uses food to communicate her feelings. 

Dr. Zhivago (1965)

Set during the Russian revolution and spans the life of Yuri Zhivago and Larrisa. 

Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (1995, 2004) Before Midnight Coming 2013

One of the catalysts that started my dream of spending a year traveling around Europe.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY ALL!

Film Review: End of Watch

Directed by: David Ayer. Stars: Jake Gyllenhall, Michael Pena, America Ferrera, Anna Kendrick. Written by David Ayer. Released: September 2012

I’m fully aware this isn't a new release, but I didn't get the chance to see it when it was in theatres. It received critical and audience buzz during TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) back in September, and I finally watched it now that it has been released for home viewing.

Which reminds me...remember the time during TIFF when I was six feet away from Jake Gyllenhall? 

No? I do.

Okay that was a little mean, I am sorry.

I didn't know much besides the basic plot and was pleasantly surprised by not only how much I enjoyed the film,  but got invested with the characters and the twists and turns the film took as well.

The film follows two LAPD cops (specifically South Central LA) and is shot in and as a (quasi) documentary style. Officer Brian Taylor (Gyllenhaal) is creating his own short documentary film about being a cop for a school project, (an elective while in law school). There is there is whole "film within a film" tone throughout. Unknowingly they make a discovery one day during a routine traffic stop that ends up making them the target for the local Mexican drug cartels.

I don’t want to say more than that about the plot, in my opinion it is best to not know too much about the film and just go for the ride along.

The heart of film and story is the friendship between Brian and Mike. Despite all the cop action, drugs and to a lesser extent, themes about poverty, racism and even immigration, it is a film about friendship that goes beyond being partners on the force. We see how close they are and their lives outside of work. I’m no expert, but it seems a pretty realistic approach and portrayal of what it is like and what it means to be part of the LAPD, or any police force.

The performances and chemistry between Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena stand out the most and the key to making this more than just a regular cop film. You end up invested and care for these characters. They feel like people you may know yourself. It helps with the emotional and climatic ending. Jake Gyllenhaal spent time with LAPD officers and ride alongs as part of his research in developing his character and shaping his performance, and it pays off. He is also credited as one of the producers as well. Michael Pena is just as strong and charismatic and plays well against Gyllenhaal. 

The women behind the men (Anna Kendrick as Janet and Natalie Martinez as Gabby) are small yet 

important roles and make their mark in each scene they are in. I also was impressed with America Ferrera as tough as nails Officer Orozco, a complete different side that showcases her talent with no sign of her Ugly Betty or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants characters.

Since there is a documentary style to this film, the camera work and editing might take a little bit to get use to, and it may throw some people off. It is a little different and slightly overdone, but I found this mainly at the start of the film and got use to it and didn't notice it as much as I got more engrossed. It has been done before and it is possible  the film would have worked without it or less reliance on the aesthetic, since there are times when it may be difficult to tell exactly what it going on. There is a lot of hand held shots, shaky camera and rapid edited, but it does mellow out.

The settings, sets and shooting on location are also a stand out to this film. 

Again without giving too much away, I felt that there was an unnecessary extra scene right at the end. Although an emotional ending, I feel it would have been even stronger without it. I like my realistic, gut wrenching endings and Hollywood seems to avoid them most of the time. 

The performances and  chemistry is what makes the film work for the most part and worth watching. I appreciate David Ayer's attempt to make End of Watch a different and more realistic cop thriller.