Friday, June 1, 2007

Amelie - 2001, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet


This is one of the most uplifting films I've seen. It also happens to be one of the funniest. Put these two components together and you have an instant favourite. Amelie is one of the most popular French films in recent years, and it is no surprise why. This warm, hilarious and quirky romantic comedy is virtually impossible not to like. This is more than just your average rom com, it is a tale that radiates love in tremendous proportions.

Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a naive and innocent girl living in Paris. Free-spirited and full of love, she takes joy in anonymously doing nice things for other people. After returning a lost childhood memory box to a previous occupant of her apartment, and witnessing the positive effect it has on his life, she sets out to do as many nice things for others as possible, all the while remaining anonymous.

As she goes about this new found hobby, she begins to notice a guy who collects discarded photo booth pictures. As her fascination with this mystery man increases, her journey begins to take a different turn, and the love that she had been spreading all across town may have finally caught up with her.

The joy in watching this movie comes from it's brilliant presentation and lead performance. The direction is fresh and original, and the editing is a work of art. The score is superb - one of the best of the new millenium thus far. The humour is delectable - nearly everything is presented with some form of innuendo, and it works completely.

Tautou is perfect as Amelie. The way she presents her character, so likeable, innocent and full of love, makes it absurd to think of anyone else in the role. As long as she shall live, she will be remembered as the actress who played Amelie.

Amelie is one of the quirkiest romantic comedies I've ever seen, and to call it a romantic comedy is doing it a disservice. This is so much more than that. This is an uplifting story that emphasizes the difference one can make when love is on the agenda, and as Amelie proves, when you go out of your way to show love to another, love will most certainly find you.

© 2007 Kim Bartlett

1 comment:

  1. A movie thats sooo damn delightful, it's bound to be hated by some. I have a friend who dislikes Amelie because it's just "Audrey Tatou being cute for two hours." My response: "exactly."

    ReplyDelete

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