Words On Film: Amour

"Words on Film" looks at the writing process behind films that have been nominated for “Best Original Screenplay” at the Academy Awards. Over the next five weeks, this feature will be dedicated to the five 2013 nominees.

Amour (2012) tackles a concept often avoided in Hollywood. The film explores what it's like to age, to have time slipping quickly past you, and how this affects your relationships. The lead characters in Amour are refined in their tastes and their lifestyle, until the world forces them to re-adjust the life they have built for themselves.

After an accident, Georges struggles to take care of his wife, doing his best not to break a promise that he made to her. He doesn't let her out of his sight and the movie shows how both Georges and Anne suffer through making some very difficult decisions.

The setting of the film is incredibly unique. It's set in one single apartment, the two lead characters having closed themselves off from the outside world. The director, Michael Haneke, explains how the lighting in the film helped to shape the confined setting: "In terms of lighting, I was looking for realistic light. This film takes place, more or less, over the period of a year, and it's difficult to express that indirectly. You see it in Jean-Louis's clothes. You see it in the light, whether it's warmer or colder. That was difficult to achieve: we were shooting in a studio, so the view out of the windows was shot separately and added digitally. That required a lot of work in post-production. But we were seeking to make it as realistic as possible." (You can read this interview with Haneke here.)

SCENE 1 - INT. APARTMENT - DAY

The hallway is a mess. A window opening onto a light well is open.
The door to the apartment is suddenly broken open. A plain- clothes detective, two uniformed police officers and several firemen - also in uniform - enter and look around. They all wear gloves and masks that cover their mouths and noses. Behind them, the superintendent and his wife also push their way in. They’re both holding their noses. In his free hand, the superintendent holds a pile of mail and promotional flyers. Behind him, comes a female neighbor.

PLAIN-CLOTHES DETECTIVE (to the superintendent and the neighbor)

Wait outside please.

He signals to a police officer who herds the curious onlookers back out through the door.

POLICE OFFICER (to the superintendent, pointing to a pile of mail)

What’s the date of the last letter?

As suggested by the title, Amour is a French-language film, but that shouldn't scare you away from experiencing the story. Subtitles aren't all that difficult once you're a few minutes in to a movie and the screenplay for the film is available in English (you can read it here). It's a brutal film to watch, but beautiful in its own way - and it is a story worth knowing.