This film follows Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), a seemingly healthy elderly couple. One day, at breakfast, Anne goes blank, not responding to Georges at all. When she comes to, she has no memory of the few minutes that she was out. It turns out that she had a minor stroke. It was however, not to be her last. After a second stroke, she is left paralyzed on one side of her body and, over the proceeding weeks, her condition continues to deteriorate to the point that she is bedridden and entirely dependent upon her husband. Georges must deal with his own sadness in the situation, his wife's loss of a will to live and his daughter's (Isabelle Huppert) own frustration in the situation.
The film garnered some very deserved Oscar nominations, Michael Haneke for Best Director, Emmanuelle Riva for Best Actress, Best Picture and Best Foreign-Language Film, winning that last one. It's certainly not one of those all-around exciting movies, but it succeeds in its subtlety. You feel the mounting frustration of the situation in time with Georges. While it's not a movie that I would be able to watch over and over, it was certainly an excellent film.
Mini soundtrack:
Listen: Bagatelles, Op. 126, n.2 in G minor
Listen: Impromptu, Op. 90 D899 No. 3 in G-Flat Major
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