A young mother is diffidently courted by the restless, morbid young poet Kleist, who hopes to tempt her from her wealthy, pallid life – cold young daughter, severe mother, starched husband – not to live but rather to die with him in a romantic double suicide. A polar opposite of the bodice-ripper, this gorgeous, episodic, claustrophobic and exceedingly deliberate narrative eschews carnality or real tenderness in favour of brutally dark humour. Kleist devotees hoping for something starry-eyed should probably steel themselves.
Amour fou | Directed by Jessica Hausner (Germany, Austria, Luxembourg 2014) with Christian Friedel, Birte Schnöink. Flm Forum. Through March 24