Sony Pictures Classics in Love with “Amour”; Haneke Drama Set for Cannes

We less than 48 hours before the Cannes Film Festival unveils their Main Comp selections for 2012,  we can easily imagine Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and Cannes honcho Thierry Frémaux having witnessed Michael Haneke’s latest (perhaps future Palme d’Or winner) from the same film reel – but who got to see the film first and when is something the prod co. international sales co. Les Films Du Losange folk only know. Amour has been nabbed by foreign film specialists – part of SPC’s trending ways of making Cannes film fest picks-ups way before the world premiere date on the Croisette. North American premieres at Telluride, TIFF and NYFF are to be expected, as the French have circled the drama on aging with an October 24th release.

Gist: Haneke likes to address subject matters that put fear into him — thankfully after shelving the project because of Sarah Polley’s debut, he  re-considered and tackled a drama about the fear of aging. This centers on cultured octogenarians Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), who are retired music teachers. Their daughter (Isabelle Huppert), also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne suffers a minor stroke. When she leaves the hospital and returns home, she is paralyzed down one side. The love that binds this old couple will really be put to the test.

Worth Noting: This is the third time SPC teams with Haneke – they grabbed 2005’s Caché (Hidden) and 2009’s The White Ribbon (the Palme d’Or winner.

Do We Care?: Grabbing the number 2 spot on our Most Anticipated Films of 2012, we’re not surprisingly high on the project and are expecting this film to be a highlight of 2012 with plenty of awards consideration and critical acclaim.