--- title: "Amour" year: 2012 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/amour" fi1m_id: "amour" imdb_id: "tt1602620" tmdb_id: 86837 wikidata_id: "Q637820" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 80 critics_reviews: 16 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:00.852705+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Amour (2012) Directed by Michael Haneke · 2h 07m · MPA PG-13 · Drama, Romance ## Identity Amour - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/amour - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** amour - **IMDb ID:** tt1602620 - **TMDB ID:** 86837 - **Wikidata ID:** Q637820 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602620/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/86837, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q637820 **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 80 from 16 reviews *In a sentence:* Wedding vows ought to say more about how tired the person doing the caring will get > Michael Haneke’s *Amour* is a painful, deeply affecting account of a marriage under the strain of illness. Its strict restraint sometimes feels oppressive, but Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva make the couple worth staying with. ## Synopsis Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) are an elderly married couple living in a Paris flat. After a stroke interrupts their life together, they have to contend with illness, increasing dependence and the demands of care at home. Their marriage becomes the setting for decisions about dignity, responsibility and how to carry on when familiar routines no longer suffice. Michael Haneke writes and directs *Amour*, a drama about a couple confronting physical decline together, with Isabelle Huppert appearing as Eva. ## Review We recommend *Amour*, though its account of caring for an ailing partner is hard to sit with. Michael Haneke writes and directs without offering the consoling thought that loving somebody makes looking after them straightforward. Georges and Anne are elderly, married and living in a Paris flat when a stroke changes their life together. He takes their love seriously enough to give the work of caring as much attention as the affection that makes it possible. Jean-Louis Trintignant plays Georges without asking us to congratulate him for his loyalty. He gives the care an effortfulness that a more reassuring performance might have concealed. Irritation has room to exist here, without being treated as proof that love has failed. We believe in the length of the marriage because Georges seems accustomed to Anne as a person, including the parts of her he cannot manage. Emmanuelle Riva is just as important to that belief. Anne’s physical decline is hard to watch because Riva keeps her recognisable as somebody with wishes of her own, including wishes that make caring for her difficult. We were frightened by the strain she makes visible in Anne’s body. The performance never lets the illness become a convenient way of making her meek or grateful. Darius Khondji photographs the Paris flat with a restraint that keeps our attention on its occupants. Jean-Vincent Puzos’s production design gives us a believable home, making the couple’s confinement there harder to dismiss as a contrivance. The rooms matter because they are where the care has to happen, and their familiarity does nothing to ease it. This narrow setting works: a change of location would offer a break that Georges and Anne cannot readily take. Editors Monika Willi and Nadine Muse let the performances establish the pace, giving physical effort time to register. The slowness makes the demands of care felt without needing them explained. There is no music added from outside the scenes to guide our response. That helps Riva and Trintignant work without sentimental prompting, and leaves us to decide how much comfort their affection provides. Haneke’s control is also our reservation. The deliberate pace and restricted setting can feel punitive, as though any moment of relief would amount to letting us off too lightly. Riva and Trintignant allow mixed feelings into their performances, but the direction occasionally presses too hard for distress. Some of the waiting could be shorter without making the illness seem easier. A drama about old age can too easily turn its characters into examples of courage or warnings about what awaits the rest of us. *Amour* largely avoids that because these performances keep Georges and Anne distinct, with wishes that do not conveniently become identical when one of them is ill. At 127 minutes, it asks for concentration and offers little rest. Choose it when there is time afterwards to talk, or simply to be quiet together. *Fi1m score 88, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Amour’s unsentimental account of an elderly marriage under the strain of illness. Praise centres on Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant, whose subtle, physically exact performances make the daily work of caring painful to watch. Haneke’s restrained direction also earns broad approval for confronting decline without forcing sentiment. Many reviews find unusual tenderness in his treatment of the couple, though others hear the familiar chill beneath it. The disagreement concerns whether that restraint allows compassion or keeps the characters at a distance. The Hollywood Reporter admires the honesty but warns that the experience is deliberately punishing. Slant Magazine disputes the prevailing view more sharply, finding manipulation and little insight behind the strong performances; The New Yorker likewise finds the characters lacking inner life. The consensus is strongly favourable, then, but the dissent challenges the emotional honesty that most critics value most. ## Straight answers **Is Amour worth watching?** *Amour* is worth watching for anyone prepared for a painful, unhurried account of an elderly couple coping with illness at home, and we scored it 88. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva make Georges and Anne worth staying with, though Michael Haneke's strict control offers little rest across 127 minutes. Choose it for an evening with time afterwards to talk. **How long is Amour, and what is it rated?** *Amour* runs 2h 07m and is rated PG-13 by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and romance film. **Where can I watch Amour in the US?** *Amour* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Amour, and is it suitable for children?** *Amour* is a UK 12A and contains no violence in the usual sense, but its portrait of a stroke and physical decline is hard to watch. We were frightened by the strain Riva makes visible in Anne's body, and the slow pace gives that effort time to register. It is not for young children, and the squeamish or recently bereaved should think carefully. **How does Amour compare to Tokyo Story?** *Amour* is the harder film to sit with, confining an elderly couple to a Paris flat as illness and the work of care take over, while [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) spreads its quiet disappointment across a family and treats neglect with patience rather than pressure. Both refuse easy villains. Ozu's film is the gentler and more forgiving; Haneke's is the more direct about what caring costs. **What should I watch after Amour?** After *Amour*, try [*Make Way for Tomorrow*](https://film.one/film/make-way-for-tomorrow) (1937, Fi1m 91): Another elderly couple discover how little space the world makes for them. Then [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) (1953, Fi1m 92): Family obligations and quiet disappointment, observed with patience and without easy villains; and [*Away from Her*](https://film.one/film/away-from-her) (2006, Fi1m 82): A marriage altered by memory loss, with tenderness that never simplifies the hurt. ### Reviews we read (25) - **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (5/5): A staggering, intensely moving and devastatingly original look at old age and life’s end that offers new perspectives on love and death. It features two performances of incredible skill and wisdom at its heart, making it a masterpiece of loyalty and pragmatism. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/amour-1) - **Empire**, David Hughes (90/100, inferred): Haneke's rigorous, unsentimental Palme d'Or winner confronts the ravages of old age and dementia on a lifelong marriage without manipulation or non-diegetic music. It becomes one of the greatest films about old age and a profound love story for the ages—uncomfortable, uncompromising and utterly unmissable. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/amour-review/) - **Total Film**, Jamie Graham (85/100, inferred): Haneke places old age and terminal illness under the microscope, resulting in a sensitive, heartfelt and humane film rather than a cold study. It confronts profound questions about losing a soulmate with warmth, nobility and love, scarring all the deeper for eschewing the director's usual nihilism. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/amour-review/) - **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (5/4/4): A formidable and towering piece of craft that offers a rare glimpse of the director’s humane side, with astounding performances as its pillars. The stately film demonstrates undying affection without forcing undue sentiment, resulting in escalating melancholy and bitter acceptance. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/amour) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): The critic describes a painful chamber drama about an elderly couple facing the aftermath of a stroke and dementia, with Haneke's trademark chill intact but applied to an intimate, human story of love and loss. The austere direction and lead performances by Trintignant and Riva are singled out as disturbing, enigmatic, and deeply moving. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/15/amour-review) - **The Independent** (80/100, inferred): Haneke offers a cool, restrained examination of nature's cruelty through an elderly couple's experience of stroke, dementia and decline in their Paris apartment. The film is undeniably sad yet not unbearable, truthfully confronting mortality while highlighting the consolations of enduring love and stoicism. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/hei-fi/entertainment/truthful-to-the-final-haunting-breath-8322895.html) - **Vulture**, David Edelstein (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as Haneke charting the decline of an elderly couple with clinical dispassion, noting its wintry tone and how it comes closest to pity among his works because nature outdoes his usual cruelty, while highlighting the magnificent performances and the persistence of love or rage. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/movie-review-amour-michael-haneke.html) - **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): Haneke's Palme d'Or contender is a sad, humane story of octogenarian spouses facing terminal decline, with wonderful performances from Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. It shows more sympathy than usual for its characters and speaks about the autumn of life in a humane way. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/love-cannes-film-festival-review-7770187.html) - **Film Comment**, Robert Koehler (70/100, inferred): The critic views Amour as a controlled portrayal of unconditional love in the face of terminal illness, highlighting the central performances but noting the film feels strategically designed for awards acclaim. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/cannes-2012-review-michael-hanekes-amour/) - **Slant Magazine**, Calum Marsh (2/4): The critic argues that Amour is ultimately hollow and manipulative, a deeply edifying horror film that feeds on the audience's fear of mortality without genuine empathy or insight, accusing Haneke of duplicity and insincerity despite strong performances from the leads. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/amour/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan: Turan hails “Amour” as a perfect storm of ruthless restraint and passion, a devastating look at enduring love amid physical decline, crediting the masterful minimalist direction and the extraordinary, subtle acting of Riva and Trintignant. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2012-dec-18-la-et-mn-1219-amour-20121219-story.html) - **Screen Daily**: A sober, rigorous and magnificent collaboration with veteran actors that is a worthy addition to films tackling old age seriously. It is a film of delicacy and immense force, with performances of a lifetime that tell it like it is about mortality. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/amour/5042301.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Catherine Wheatley: Haneke's study of love’s ultimate transcendence defies expectations with compassion for its characters and respect for its audience. It emerges as a delicate and tender elegy for a lifetime of love, with breathtaking performances from Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-amour) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd: The critic calls it a sincere, un-ironic love story at its core that plumbs depths of devotion and depicts the purest act of sacrifice, while also offering a brutally honest look at the indignities of old age and illness, praising its stark power and profound emotional impact. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/amour-is-a-profound-love-story-that-only-michael-haneke-1798276511) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Deborah Young: The critic praises the film's magnificent simplicity and relentless honesty about old age, illness and dying, highlighting career-high performances from the leads, but notes it is a deliberately torturous watch unlikely to reach wide audiences beyond Haneke's fans. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/amour-cannes-review-326962/) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody: Brody criticizes the film as sterile and contrived, arguing that Haneke manipulates viewers into complicity with a depicted mercy killing through overly idealized characters and a repressed style that avoids genuine emotional depth. He singles out the lack of inner life and the smug pleasure in the killing scene for complaint. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/michael-hanekes-sterile-amour) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge: The critic praises the film's intimate portrayal of enduring love and dignity in the face of illness, highlighting the subtle performances of the leads as particularly moving. He notes Haneke's shift to a more tender approach compared to his earlier confrontational works. [Read](https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/amour-review-1117947583/) - **Den of Geek**, Nick Allen (4.5/5): Amour stands out among Best Picture nominees for its unflinching realism about love, aging and death; the critic praises its emotional honesty and the physical performances of its leads. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/amour-review/) - **The Wrap** (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film sad, wrenching and devastating yet praises its brutal honesty and emotional truth as making it one of the year’s best films. The veteran leads deliver powerful, heartbreaking performances without sentimentality. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/amour-review-wrenching-essential-look-disintegrating-life-69791/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B+): The critic finds the film agonizing and brutally honest about the decay of a marriage due to illness, but criticizes it for feeling obvious and exploitative rather than revelatory. He praises the subtle performances of the lead actors. [Read](https://collider.com/amour-review/) - **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B+): The critic finds it a tough, harrowing picture that remains optimistic and full of heart. They single out the committed performances of Jean-Louis Trintignant and especially Emmanuelle Riva for praise. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-age-illness-test-love-in-michael-hanekes-unflinching-amour-20121222/) - **Digital Spy**, Emma Dibdin (80/100, inferred): Haneke delivers a pitiless yet tender study of an elderly couple facing death; the film is noted for its personal inspiration and moving central performances despite its unflinching approach. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/bfi-london-film-festival/a429743/amour-review-bfi-london-film-festival-2012/) - **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (4/5): Haneke creates an emotionally direct and compassionate work about love in decline; the critic singles out the dignified, courageous performances of Trintignant and Riva as beyond praise. [Read](http://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/amour) - **/Film**, Germain Lussier (8.5 out of 10): The critic calls it probably the saddest happy movie ever made that transforms terrible pain into an affirmation of life. They single out Haneke's realism and the lead performances for praise. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/523671/amour-review-michael-hanekes-palme-dor-winner-transforms-pain-into-joy/) - **Paste**, Jonah Flicker (9.0): The critic describes Amour as a powerful and horrifying exploration of aging and illness that illuminates both the horrors and beauty of the elderly couple's relationship without exploitation. He notes it leaves the viewer unsettled while pondering the meaning of love and care. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/amour) ## Details - **Director:** Michael Haneke - **Director:** Michael Haneke - **Writer:** Michael Haneke - **Cinematography:** Darius Khondji - **Editor:** Nadine Muse, Monika Willi - **Production design:** Jean-Vincent Puzos - **Costume design:** Catherine Leterrier - **Producer:** Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Michael Katz - **Cast:** Jean-Louis Trintignant as Georges; Emmanuelle Riva as Anne; Isabelle Huppert as Eva; Alexandre Tharaud as Alexandre; William Shimell as Geoff; Ramón Agirre as Concierge's Husband; Rita Blanco as Concierge; Carole Franck as Nurse #1 - **Runtime:** 2h 07m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 19 December 2012 - **Genres:** Drama, Romance - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2012); [Palme d'Or winners](https://film.one/collections/palme-dor.md) (Winner, 2012) - **Budget:** $9 million - **Box office:** $30 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMOugpyFf3A ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AT, BE, BR, CA, CH, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IL, IN, IT, KR, NL, NO, PA, TR, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2013: Best Actress (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best International Feature Film (won) - César Award for Best Actress 2013: César Award for Best Actress (nominated) - International Submission to the Academy Awards 2013: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated) - Cannes Film Festival 2012: Palme d'Or (won) - European Film Award for Best Actor 2012: European Film Award for Best Actor (won) - European Film Award for Best Actress 2012: European Film Award for Best Actress (won) - European Film Award for Best Cinematographer 2012: European Film Award for Best Cinematographer (nominated) - European Film Award for Best Director 2012: European Film Award for Best Director (won) - European Film Award for Best Film 2012: European Film Award for Best Film (won) - European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2012: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (nominated) ## If you liked this - *Make Way for Tomorrow* (1937), Fi1m 91: Another elderly couple discover how little space the world makes for them. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/make-way-for-tomorrow.md) - *Tokyo Story* (1953), Fi1m 92: Family obligations and quiet disappointment, observed with patience and without easy villains. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story.md) - *Away from Her* (2006), Fi1m 82: A marriage altered by memory loss, with tenderness that never simplifies the hurt. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/away-from-her.md) - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Care for an ageing parent becomes inseparable from a couple’s marital troubles. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) - *Poetry* (2010), Fi1m 87: An older woman’s failing memory complicates a searching drama about responsibility. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/poetry.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/amour