Amour. Unconditional, heart-breaking love, and all that it means. Filled with a million delicate moments.

I need to watch this again. With a notepad. There were so many damn good scenes in Amour, and having seen it literally half an hour ago, my caffeine-filled head is racing, trying to piece it all back together.

The first moment Anne is brought back home in the wheelchair, and Georges has to wheel her in to the living room. The subtle awkwardness that comes with having to ask “Where do you want me to take you?” for the first time. Picking her up delicately, moving her inch by inch towards the chair. The momentary relief.

Putting Anne into bed and standing around uncomfortably, not knowing what to do next. Thank lord for Haneke’s writing infusing a lot of humorous bite into these characters. Anne breaks the tension, but Georges’ life has forever changed.

Jean-Louis Trintignant is 81. Emmanuelle Riva is 85. They give two amazing, worlds-apart performances, conveying the fears and inevitability of old age. Trintignant is loyal and unconditional with his love, and you have nothing but admiration for him. He hits her once, out of her refusal to drink even a sip of water. She’s all he’s got left, and he’s desperately holding on, while she wants the exact opposite. As a character puts it, he’s “coping” surprisingly well for the “situation” he’s in. Riva puts you through the wringer. The shower scene is gut-wrenching, and I turned away to see the people next to me with their head buried in their hands. She’s screaming “HURTS, HURTS”, and her frailty is completely exposed.

I don’t know if I expected the death to come quite as it did, but I was relieved. I don’t think I would have done any different. Sometimes, there is absolutely nothing graceful about ageing. It’s cruel, and unforgiving. I’ve witnessed it first hand, which had me relating to this all the more.

You think the heartbreak is over, and then Georges has to go hunt that pigeon down. Where he shooed it out the first time around, he holds onto it for all its worth. After which he writes letters to his wife. You are a cruel man, Haneke.

Not quite sure what to make of the ending. Was it Georges passing on as he gets up from bed? Why did it end with Eva?

Oh, and what the hell was with that dream sequence?! Audible gasps and nervous laughter aplenty!