...watching an elderly woman slowly die.
No more, no less.
On those grounds, the film was flawless. Superbly acted, superbly directed.
If you like that kind of thing, this is your movie.
I don't like that kind of thing.
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Always happy to help wherever and whenever I can!
shareIt is a rugged movie to watch. Not one I'd ever be willing to purchase. As you stated, superbly acted, superbly directed. It moves at a slow, stately progress, but I'm loathe to call it boring. I really can't find a flaw in the film except to say...it's not my kind of thing.
I would recommend everyone give it a chance, though.
Damion Crowley
All complaints about my post go to Helen Waite.
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Whose kind of thing is a movie like this--Dr. Kevorkian fans? I've
had it with this kind of film. Why must just about every movie about elderly
people depict them as being on a one-way downward slide towards disability,
dementia, and death? And worse yet, such films are praised to the skies for
being "sensitive," "honest," etc.
I often rent DVDs for my mother,
who is in her eighties, and I sometimes look for movies that depict elderly
people. It's very hard to find anything that doesn't show older people in these
depressing, despairing situations, and I don't want her seeing this kind of stuff.
I started watching this, and after the first half-hour of unrelenting
sadness, I realized this was totally inappropriate for her to watch. (She doesn't need to see fictional depictions of someone caring for a stroke-affected spouse, since she already lived through several years of caring for
her own spouse in a similar condition, and she could've come up with a more
compelling story than what this film offered). We ended up watching Monty
Python and the Holy Grail in place of this film. She had a much better time
with that than she'd ever have with this dismal "love story."
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo.
Well I've seen this movie several times, and just like there might be movies inappropriate for a child, there are obviously movies that you might not want to show an elderly person who has been through something traumatic with a loved one like this.
My mother died of cancer. I cannot watch any movie that has anything to do with cancer. That is why we have choices. No one is forcing anyone to watch anything they don't want to, but I defend the right of these types of movies to be made. Just because you didn't like it, doesn't mean others didn't. Obviously, this is not a "feel good movie". It is sad, and terribly depressing. But it's also very real.
By the way, there's a lovely movie comedy/drama about older people you and your mother might like called "Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont" with Joan Plowright and Rupert Friend. Lovely and charming.
I absolutely loathe Monty Python. I even walked out of Spamalot on Broadway. Can't take that type of humour at all. I'd rather watch Amour again.
Remember us, for we too have lived, loved and laughed
Thanks for the recommendation. But, come on, you didn't even like the "Fish-Slapping Dance"?
I'm not crying, you fool, I'm laughing!
Hewwo.
No..did not even crack a smile, and I have a great sense of humour LOL. By the way, Mrs. Palfrey is wonderful, but there is some sadness. I don't want to spoil anything for you, but it's not a total comedy!
Remember us, for we too have lived, loved and laughed
"Why must just about every movie about elderly
people depict them as being on a one-way downward slide towards disability,
dementia, and death?"
Because regardless of what you want to believe, MANY old people get sicker and sicker and sicker and sicker... and sicker until they die. That is the reality for MOST of the elderly. The few, lucky ones remain spry until one day they drop dead of a heart attack while doing the dishes.
Do yourself a favor and READ descriptions about newer movies. Don't just pick whatever looks good out of a Red Box or "click" away mindlessly on Netflix. It'll make weeding out the "inappropriate" movies for your mother easier.
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had.
There were two reasons i ave this movie a chance.
First being it has won an Oscar and the second one being i loved The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005). Sadly, i was disappointed. Just because a person saw this movie does not mean they ignored decription and picked random movie on netflix.
---------------------------------------------
Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.
Do you watch any horror movies?
I ask, because this is the ultimate horror film (i.e. not for the kiddies who imagine themselves to be courageous when they flock to slasher films)
But horror movies, I am thinking, are fantasies of sorts. For a couple hours we can escape into a world that is frightening and disturbing, but a world that we know is not real. It gives us an adrenaline rush without risking too much. Yes, I watch them from time to time.
Amour to my mind was not a horror movie any more than a movie about a fatal car accident would be. These things are all too real. The fantastical element is missing. We're left only with the stripped down pain and suffering.
Nice post but I see it differently.
I think this movie, like horror movies, concerns the abject, the uncanny. When we are trapped inside a body that doesn't allow us to do what a body is made for, we are neither among the living or the dead. A fatal car accident upholds clear boundaries between the living and the dead. A devastating stroke does not. (Or at least that's the way I see it). Fundamentally, horror films unsettle, destabilize and blur boundaries -- just what I experienced while watching this film.
Yes I watch horror movies, but I'm sure one can watch a beheading video as well, but why put yourself through such a thing.
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Yours is a good comment and I thank you for it.
But why did you start it with "If you watched the film, you'd know..."? Obviously I did watch the film. I just came away with a different take.
Why the snark?
I agree with your assessment of the merits of this film but I didn't dislike it because it's not my 'thing'. As someone else said, I don't think it would be anyone's thing.
I disliked it because I thought it was pointless. Death is nature. Nature is apt to be painful and indiscriminate.
For me this was akin to watching someone have a particularly painful bowel movement.
We're all going to experience this first hand if we haven't already and we're all going to gradually disintegrate unless we get hit by a truck so we don't really need to see it as superbly crafted entertainment.
I don't like that kind of thing.same here ... :).
You said it, my feeling too. It's an ok movie, but not entertaining to me, I could spend two hours doing better things than this. Our own life is already bad enough, no need to remind us again.
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