334. Amour

334. (27 Dec) Amour (2012, Michael Haneke) 60



I'm reminded of the line from Bergman's Face to Face where Liv Ullmann watches her grandmother sitting by her grandfather's deathbed and laments, "For a brief moment, I realized that love embraces everything. Even death." That more probing, albeit obvious work tackling similar subject matter is far more moving and fascinating than the overly restrained Amour. That's not to say this doesn't have its own share of obvious imagery or commentary, with one particularly dopey dream sequence. Nevertheless, this is certain to resonate with anyone familiar with the hardships of elder care. Few films have shown the frustrating, debilitating nature of aging so artfully. Haneke knows very well what he's doing here, but this seems like a minor work for a man who's capable of so much more than a slow, sorrowful character study. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva are underwhelming in their roles.

294. Kapo

294. (01 Dec) Kapo (1960, Gillo Pontecorvo) 57



It's hard to judge Pontecorvo's concentration camp scenes because they're rather prototypical. Still, the overwrought scoring and general indulgences of melodrama prevent this from initially feeling harrowing, particularly as this plays into so many cliches of women in prison dramas. Once it evolves into a survival drama, Susan Strasberg's loss of innocence makes Kapo disheartening and compelling. First, she eagerly gives up her virginity for food, but it's all the more crushing to see how she becomes increasingly brutal towards her peers once she's placed in charge of them. The arc and overall plotting are choppy with a forced, sentimental romance to fill in the third act, but this has some strong moments. Strasberg's affection for her cat over the human prisoners, for instance, makes quite a statement.