In Theaters 03.18.2015 or Watch at Home 06.16.2015

Amour Fou

Directed by Jessica Hausner
Film Movement
2014
96 Minutes
Austria, Luxembourg, Germany
German
Romance, Drama
Unrated

Forever under-appreciated and melancholy, Heinrich is a young poet in Romantic Era Berlin who determines his best way out of despair is to end it all, and he sets about finding a woman to join him in his predetermined departure. Recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, the well-off but unremarkable Henrietta, fascinated by Heinrich’s controversial "The Marquise of O," finds his offer intriguing, if a bit strange. And yet, she agrees to navigate the uncharted journey towards a suicide pact with him, at once awkward and enlightening for them both. Rather than a declaration of passionate devotion, Amour Fou - inspired by the actual suicide in 1811 of Heinrich von Kleist and Henrietta Vogel - goes against expectations to become a wry and curious denunciation of dying for love.

Director & Cast

  • Director: Jessica Hausner
  • Starring: Birte Schnoeink
  • Starring: Christian Friedel
  • Starring: Stephan Grossman

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "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
  • "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."
    Film Comment
  • "Hausner reveals her strongest work yet, a droll, romantic exploration of sorts that manages to expertly blend her unique tone with exquisite digital compositions."
    Nicolas Bell, Ioncinema