2012 Amour

2012 Amour

Anne: What would you say if no one came to your funeral?
Georges: Nothing, presumably.

At last I've seen Amour, the last remaining Best Picture nominee I had left to see.  It's an elusive film.  I'd been told by multiple people that it is one of the most brutal movies I would ever see, so I distanced myself from the movie while watching it.  It's about a married couple: two music teachers, Georges and Anne, who have led happy lives and are still in love.  Anne suffers a stroke, and needs to be taken care of.  She feels like a burden, and doesn't want to go on, but Georges remains devoted to her.  Her mind is still strong, though she can't move one side of her body.

After a second stroke leaves her completely helpless, things continue to go downhill rapidly.  Anne is bedridden and unable to speak properly or make sense.  It only gets worse.  As Georges tells their daughter, who doesn't want to accept how things are (she believes that there must be something they can do, and doubts the steps Georges has taken, though he has been as thorough as possible, while honoring Anne's wish not to return to the hospital), "Things will go on as they have done up until now. They'll go from bad to worse. Things will go on, and then one day it will all be over."

It's a movie about the end of the life, and about the people who love the person and have to watch them deteriorate and die.  It's a tough movie, but in a way I found the ending peaceful after all the pain and suffering (I won't reveal the ending here).  It's powerful, but probably not a movie that I would have chosen to watch if it hadn't been nominated.  It makes you think about things that are unpleasant to contemplate, but maybe that's okay.