A Brutally Honest Love Story

AMOUR

Michael Haneke, 2012

In 2012, Austrian auteur Michael Haneke made one of the most emotionally intimate films of the 21st century: Amour. Remember that Adam Sandler song from The Wedding Singer? That somehow describes Amour.

Anne and Georges (Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant) are an octogenarian couple, blissfully married for a long time. Both are retired music teachers. Their forte: the piano. They live by themselves in a Paris apartment. Their only child (Isabelle Huppert) already has a family of her own, and is somewhat emotionally detached from her parents. (She cares more about trivial things like profiting from her parents' house.) One day, the couple suffers a major blow in their relationship when Anne suffers from dementia and then stroke.

My All-Time Favorite Female Performances

When I was younger, one of my wildest dreams is to become an actress. That's right. And that dream wouldn't be if there weren't no inspiration. Most of the performances that inspired me are by women; I think it's because I can connect more with women than with men. So here they are, the female performances that made me want to be on screen, inhabiting a character and reciting my lines.

Isabelle Huppert, LA PIANISTE

Women in Turmoil

They say that behind every man's success is a woman. And my favorite Beatle, John Lennon, once sang: "And woman I will try to express. My inner feelings and thankfulness. For showing me the meaning of success..."

Whether she's a mother, a sister, a wife, a lover, or a friend, a woman is truly an inspiration to a man. But what will happen if a man's inspiration suddenly finds herself battling her inner demon? Will the man still love her? (Just wondering.)

There are many depictions of women in turmoil; but few I found really outstanding. Here they are:



Ingrid Thulin, Cries and Whispers

Silent But Powerful

THE BRONTË SISTERS
André Téchiné, 1979

The film tells the story of the Brontë sisters and their brother Branwell (Pascal Greggory). Les sœurs Brontë may bore some audiences because it's mostly quiet, but the film's silence is its power. Although the characters rarely speak throughout the movie, when they speak, their words are heartfelt and poetic (just like the lines from the Brontë sisters' novels). The actors' facial expressions and the film's landscapes are impressive.