Reverb_SR71.
While landing a conventional aircraft you pull the yoke back close thrust and as the nose drops also as the speed is dropping you need to keep pulling on the yoke to control the descent till touch down. In Airbus FBW stick out of neutral is some load factor demand. So when you flare by moving the stick back you ask for certain load factor and the aircraft starts pitching to give you that and will continue to pitch as long as the stick is out of neutral. So you will have to keep releasing the stick to neutral after each backward flare movement. This will not work well all the time so they have devised the flare mode where the auto trim stops and from 30 feet the aircraft starts pitching down. The pilot can now maintain steady backward pressure like conventional aircraft and continue to land.
In direct law pilot directly moves the elevators and computers do not modify control out put so aircraft behaviour is like a conventional aircraft from the time it goes in direct law. In pitch Alternate law is same like normal law and due to multiple failures flare mode is not available so aircraft is put in direct law for landing. Direct law is flare mode of alternate law.