The Nightmare-Body. Michael Haneke Reversing a Tarkovskian Dream Logic in Amour
The Nightmare-Body. Michael Haneke Reversing a Tarkovskian Dream Logic in Amour

Summary/Abstract: This paper focuses on a dream sequence from Michael Haneke’s latest film . Amour captures two bodies between life and death, an octogenarian couple secluded in their home, from which departure means passing away. After enlarging on various concepts created by Gilles Deleuze (the body without organs, but also the time-image of cinema), my close reading shows how the movie reveals its oneiric structure, especially in the second half, introduced by the nightmare of Georges, a scene the author confesses to be reminiscent of Andrei Tarkovsky. This dream summarizes the film by forging the path of a subtle oneiro-poetics: later on, we are witnessing two scenes where the protagonist has a reverie with his wife. As a counterpart, we have the soul, represented by the pigeon, which acts like a sort of a psychopomp. Thus, the function of the dream sequence would be to foreshadow pure death or, maybe, afterlife.

• Details
• Contents