U.S. critics pick Amour as best film of 2012

The U.S. National Society of Film Critics selected Amour as the best picture of 2012 during its annual meeting Saturday.

The critics chose the veteran French star of Amour, Emmanuelle Riva, as the best actress and Daniel Day-Lewis best actor for Lincoln.

The group of 60 prominent movie critics from around the country met at Lincoln Center in New York City to make its picks.

German-born Austrian director Michael Haneke won best director for Amour. A Cannes Palme d'Or-winner, the French-language movie depicts the slow deterioration of the elderly woman played by Riva.

It has been praised as an unflinching look at old age and life's end. The drama has won widespread critical acclaim and is the frontrunner forthe best foreign film title at the upcoming Academy Awards, nominations for which will be announced on Thursday.

Playwright Tony Kushner won best screenplay for Lincoln.

Amy Adams was chosen best supporting actress for The Master, while Matthew McConaughey was selected best supporting actor for Magic Mike and Bernie.

The prize for best nonfiction film went to The Gatekeepers, director Dror Moreh's exploration of intelligence operations by Israel's Shin Bet security agency.

Mihai Malaimaire was honored for best cinematography for The Master.

The film critics' society, founded in 1966, works to promote film preservation and historically important movies.

This year's awards were dedicated to the late Village Voice critic Andrew Sarris, a founding member of the society, who died last year. Several special heritage honours were alsopresented, including to Laurence Kardish, senior film curator of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.