Amer
Amer

Amer

2009Movie90 minFrench

Ana is confronted with body and desire at three key moments of her life. As a young girl, she brings her dead grandpa back to life. In her puberty, she discovers the power of decay and sexuality. Finally, she wrestles with loss and loneliness when she returns to her parental home, now derelict.

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Insights

IMDb6.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes86%
Metacritic70/100
Google Users75%
Director: Hélène Cattet and Bruno ForzaniGenres: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Plot Summary

Amer is an experimental horror film that explores the fragmented and sensory experiences of a young woman named Ana throughout her life. The narrative unfolds through three distinct phases: her childhood fixation on the mysterious sensations of her house, her adolescence marked by a burgeoning and unsettling sexuality, and her adulthood where these primal desires culminate in a disturbing encounter. The film prioritizes atmosphere and visceral imagery over a conventional plot.

Critical Reception

Amer garnered significant attention on the festival circuit for its bold, art-house approach to horror. Critics praised its unique visual style, audacious sound design, and uncompromised artistic vision, often comparing it to the giallo genre and the works of directors like Dario Argento. However, its experimental nature and lack of traditional narrative were divisive, with some finding it excessively abstract or deliberately opaque, while others hailed it as a groundbreaking piece of genre cinema.

What Reviewers Say

  • Visually striking and stylistically ambitious with a unique sensory focus.
  • A highly atmospheric and unsettling journey into primal desire and obsession.
  • Divisive for its abstract narrative but lauded for its bold directorial vision.

Google audience: Audience reviews frequently highlight the film's striking visual aesthetic and intense atmosphere as its strongest points. Many appreciate its unique, non-linear storytelling and its ability to evoke strong emotional and visceral reactions. However, some viewers found the film's abstract nature and lack of clear plot progression to be challenging or unsatisfying.

Awards & Accolades

Nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Fun Fact

The directors, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, are a real-life couple and often collaborate on their visually distinctive and experimental films, drawing inspiration from Italian giallo cinema.

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My Review

TMDB Reviews

1 reviews
RalphRahal

RalphRahal

Amer isn’t a movie for everyone, but if you’re into Dario Argento or giallo films, there’s a lot to like about it. Amer is more about the visuals and mood than the story, and while some parts are really interesting, it doesn’t always kee...