Film Forum

“An event that could hardly be described as a laughing matter somehow yields a dryly amusing and characteristically layered reflection on the absurdity of what humans call love in AMOUR FOU” – Justin Chang, Variety. Berlin, 1810: a despondent young Romantic poet pines for a woman to join him in a pact to end his despair -- and which will be the ultimate expression of their love. He meets the terminally ill Henrietta, who is fascinated by his controversial novella, The Marquise of O. Inspired by the historical events leading to the double suicide of poet/dramatist Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) and Henrietta Vogel, Austrian director Jessica Hausner (LOURDES) recreates early 19th century haute bourgeois Berlin: the hushed drawing rooms, deliberate rhythms of family life, the period decor and clothing – all suffused with a color scheme worthy of Vermeer.

AUSTRIA / LUXEMBOURG / GERMANY • 2014 • 96 MINS. • IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES • FILM MOVEMENT

Reviews

“MASTERPIECE. Top Ten List for 2014. One of the great films about the nature of love.  Brilliantly employs lieder by Mozart and Beethoven – the most telling use of period performance since Straub-Huillet’s 1968 CHRONICLE OF ANNA MAGDELENA BACH.”
– James Quandt, Artforum

“Critics’ Picks. The great Jessica Hausner returns with this austere true story… Forget period whimsy: this melodrama will sting for months.”
– Time Out New York

“A bone-dry comedy of manners. A showcase for Hausner’s singular formal talents, her way with composition and mise-en-scène.”
– A.A. Dowd, A.V. Club/The Onion

“A satirical yet sensitive study of the 1811 death pact between poet Heinrich von Kleist and Henriette Vogel. Hausner expertly conveys the claustrophobia and inflexibility of this environment by tightly choreographing her characters through carefully composed, sparsely decorated spaces.”
– Nicole Armour, Film Comment

“A delightful comedy of errors… An acidic analysis of love’s remarkable talent for idiocy.”
– Nikola Grozdanovic, IndieWire

“Hausner reveals her strongest work yet, a droll, romantic exploration of sorts that manages to expertly blend her unique tone with exquisite digital compositions.”
– Nicholas Bell, Ioncinema.com