"45th Anniversary" is easily reminiscent of the popular Palme d'Or film "Love" in previous years. Comparing the two is interesting in itself. From the end, it seems that the death imagery of "Love" is pure tragedy, and "45th Anniversary" moves into the future in the sweetness of the anniversary ceremony. But the more obvious contrast seems to be that Haneke, who has always been in love with the dark background, gave the two old men the most loyal guardian, while the fledgling Andrew Hagrid poured dirty water on the seemingly peaceful anniversary love.
The perturbation comes from a text message. The image of a dead teenage girl appears in the middle-class home of two people. We got what we wanted to see the cracks in love. We love tragedy, at least I do. So, it is also no surprise that imagination and jealousy are like tiny lice, sowing the tickling and lingering pain in the old lady's heart. This kind of pain and anxiety is revealed in the film by the director in a subtle and direct way. The younger old man struggled to control himself in unease, trying to convince himself that the relationship between the two was not vulnerable. But Jeff, who always likes to read Kierkegaard, knows that the combination of two people is just the result of a choice. For everyone, choice is never just a one-way street in life. On the contrary, when we are forced or take the initiative to make a choice, we always have the possibility that did not become a reality. The fragility of life is that these small and heavy possibilities may have another kind of reality, a more seductive reality. Because they use imagination as a weapon, in the space constructed for them in our hearts, they can become a purer flowing feast without the control of time. In Jeff's heart, the girl who died in the snow and ice in Switzerland was still 27 years old, and in her secret imagination she had a beauty beyond reality. Not to be outdone, Jeff affirms the existence of that secret reality without hesitation when Kate asks about another possibility. What made Kate unacceptable was that her husband by her side had been living in another imaginary marriage. And she always thought that her youth had captured everything in him, even Jeff's failed sex.
The tragic nature of Kate's discovery is self-evident. But she couldn't communicate with her friends. In their eyes, life is still not bad. This is actually the fate of most of us. We all live in the complex truths of language, speech, confession, communication, and they show what we want. Then, we are expected to choose a truth as the foundation color of our lives. Although we will realize that the choice is somewhat blind, we still believe that it is irreplaceable. Kate's friends kept reminding her to imagine Jeff's soulful speeches and tears at the anniversary ceremony, and Jeff really gave what he could call a moving performance. Is this the truth? Perhaps disappointingly, there is no such thing as truth in this world. Everything is floating and ready to change. Our lives are ultimately nothing more than an enduring religious mass in which we choose and affirm our beliefs through rituals watched by countless eyes. Of course, we also don't care whether God is dead or doesn't exist at all.
But faith often encounters inevitable doubts. That's the confusion Kate writes on her face at the end of the movie. Once a crack is formed, it cannot be erased.
It's a pity that the film has neither the clarity of an idea, nor the beauty of open ambiguity. The film's attempt to say something without seeming to be convinced of its content leaves the film in a state of ambiguity. Of course, maybe the director thought it very well, but the truth is always flowing.
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