Amour

Oscar winner for Best Foreign film, Amour might have been one of the most emotionally intense movies in the running this year. Yes, the story alone would be a qualifier, depicting as it does the inevitability of death in old age. But more important is how director Michael Haneke puts us face to face with that mortality. It’s a slow, methodical deterioration that puts Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) on death’s door, while her loving husband, Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), wonders when enough will be enough. Can he give Anne—and himself—any comfort sooner than death will come for her? Most movies would get this wrong, hitting a melodramatic target or simply blinking in the face of such dramatic weight. Not Haneke; he’s used to playing in the deep end of the pool. And armed with these performances, Amour is nothing short of devastating.