Amelie Reviews

• Tips for english viewers

  
  By AYXP2J1A8YS6X on 2001-12-13
  I have seen thousands of films in my life, and thought nothing could surprise me anymore on a screen. Amelie proved me I was wrong. Instead of writing another "best film ever" comment, I would like to give some indications for non-french speaking viewers, as the translation might have made some lines a bit obscure.
  Amelie says to Colignon "Meme les artichauds ont du coeur" (Even artichokes have a heart). In french, "un coeur d'artichaud" (an artichoke heart) is a person that falls very often and easily in love.
  Colignon calls Amelie "Amelie-melo" (pronounce "ah-may-LEE-may-low") which sounds like "un meli-melo", a muddle or mix-up.
  In the cafe, people discuss about time and weather, as the same word "temps" means both "le temps qui passe" (time that passes) and "le temps qu'il fait" (the weather). So goes Hippolito's theory : they speak about the weather because they are afraid of the passing time.
  Collignon says about his mother : "Elle a une memoire d'elephant, un elephant de mer" (literally: she has memory like an elephant, a sea elephant). A "sea elephant" is a sort of walrus, and "mer" (sea) and "mere" (mother) are pronounced the same.
  When Amelie is in a theater, she watches "Jules & Jim", a movie by Francois Truffaut. There are many references to Truffaut in the movie : Claire Maurier plays the mother in "the 400 blows" and many scenes refer to "Bed and Board", which itself refers to Hitchcock's "Rear window". I still have to figure which was the movie whith Spencer Tracy driving without watching...
  When Amelie watches her projected life on TV, a scene that refers to Woody Allen's "Zelig", the voice over is from Frederic Mitterand, nephew of his uncle, who is famous for commenting weddings or funerals of aristocrats on french TV.
  The "likes/dislikes" narration was experimented by Jeunet in a short movie "Foutaise" with Dominique Pinon, that will be included in the collector edition of the DVD. It also refers to "La vie, mode d'emploi" (Life: a user's manual) from Georges Perec, although Jeunet admits he could never finish the book.
  Most TV scenes are stock shots. The story about the horse running in the Tour de France is true. Most stories told in the film are true, including the one about collecting discarded pictures.
  There are numerous references in the movie, including to other Jeunet films. The scene in the mystery train is almost a copy of a similar scene in Alien : Resurrection where Ripley has an almost tender behaviour with the alien.
  Finally, "Amelie" comes from "Emily", as Emily Watson was supposed to play the role, and "Poulain" is both a young untrained horse and a chocolate brand. And this is not a coincidence.
  
  

• An irresistible smile of a film

  
  By A2P49WD75WHAG5 on 2003-01-11
  Like the star of Chocolat, the title character of this magical comedy also wants to heal people inside. But this particular healer is a daydreamer with an irresistible smile, a Louise Brooks bob hairstyle or an Audrey Hepburn-like bun when it's tied up, and will charm the pants off the iciest of souls.

  The only-child of a tight-lipped, hard-hearted doctor father and a neurotic schoolteacher mother, Amelie Poulaine grew up being too much unloved, with a not too happy childhood. As a young lady, she becomes a waitress at the Two Windmills cafe, but other times spends her time in an imaginative world of dreams, not forming close ties with people, being terribly shy.

  One day, she is watching TV when Princess Diana's death is announced. From then on, she decides to be a healer of sorts, whether it be uniting a man with childhood memories he left in a cubbyhole in the skirting board long time ago, trying to soothe the hearts of people, make people's lives better, or being an avenging angel. The scene where she helps a blind man across the street and describes what's going on is simply magical.

  Amelie is also befriended by artist Raymond Dufayel, known as the Glass Man because of a disease that has given him very brittle bones. They communicate indirectly through a painting he's working on, particularly a young girl that Dufayel's trying to figure out.

  Amelie meets Nino Quincompoix, a man who collects discarded, frequently torn ID card photos from a photo booth and puts the reconstructed pieces in an album. Included in there many times is a stern bald man whose pictures are always torn up. Amelie finds Nino's album and wonders who the bald man is. This is a mystery included in the film.

  There's Colignon the grocer, an obnoxious middle-aged man who delights himself in disparaging his assistant Lucien, who's slow-witted but nice and sensitive. Amelie feels sorry for Lucien and the scenes where she becomes his avenging angel at Colignon's expense are hilarious. At one point she tells Colignon, "You'll never be a vegetable. Even artichokes have hearts." Ouch, but well deserved.

  Amelie's widowed father spends his life collecting garden statues to decorate his dead wife's shrine, instead of travelling around the world. Amelie steals one of them, a bearded garden gnome complete with red pointed hat, and then something weird happens. A few days later, her father receives a postcard from the gnome, who is apparently on holiday abroad!!! This goes on for a while and completely baffles him.

  Audrey Tautou would've been my choice for Best Actress of the year. I simply melted everytime she smiled in the movie. She also bears a slight similarity to another Audrey--Hepburn. Both have in common black hair, a face brimming with charm, and irresistible smiles. Maybe that's why it was love at first sight with me.

  Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet uses some quirky film techniques, mostly visual imagery, such as a scene when Amelie literally dissolves into water. The onscreen narration is also useful. At times, it sets the stage for turning points in the film. Earlier, it describes the likes and hates of the Poulaines and the one important characteristic of the Two Windmill employees. He creates an imaginative film that's a breather from the usual Hollywood grind. But it's his closeups of Amelie and her smile that make this worth seeing over and over.
  
  

• Makes you feel all warm.

  
  By A27CFNHYZG6WS8 on 2001-10-17
  Before I urge you to rush out and revel in this romantic wisp of a movie, I must warn you that it is the kind of film that will make you either quake with bleary joy, or propel you out of the cinema with an ungovernable urge to smash things. If the words 'sugar', 'naive' or 'cute' are not in your vocabulary; if the mere sight of a bobbed gamine making eyes at you across the screen doesn't make your heart flutter; if scenes where lamps discuss their owner's love life with her paintings, or a young girl screams to save her suicidal goldfish don't enchant you, than, in the words of Gilbert and Sullivan, don't go.

  If, however, you feel your spiritual home is in France, than 'Amelie' might just make you fall in love again. it is for those who love Paris in sunshine or rain; who palpitate at the very thought of tree-lined Parisian streets and cafes; who have experienced haunting musical epiphanies at night in empty Metro stations; who have read Raymond Queneau novels; who rejoice in street markets, Renoir paintings, or the sight of horses running in the Tour de France.

  'Amelie' is a romantic comedy for those who prefer the chase to the clinch. its heroine is almost a ghost, unloved and friendless as a child, who presides disembodied over strangers' lives, linking characters, punishing baddies and deciding destinies in ways that seem supernatural to them. She can only observe others from a distance and act accordingly - her own life remains emotionally dead. Of the various Queneau-like mysteries, red-herrings, non-sequiters and paper trails strewn throughout the film, the most pressing and emotionally charged is - will Amelie find love and rejoin the real world?

  The film is unashamedly nostalgic in its romantic vision of a vanished (never-was?) Paris, where musette is still played in sparse cafes, and funfairs and ghost trains become sites of erotic possibility. The CGI effects are used not for inhuman spectacle, but to do rich justice to individuals' inner lives. The idea of reworking the past; the comfort of myths, lies and delusions; the creation of one's own future - these are some of the film's themes, and they encompass characters, culture and place. As such, the film has been condemned as reactionary. It's probably sexist (although I identified with Amelie, rather than simply fancying her).

  It has reminded people of various reference points from the Oulipo writers to the early films of the French New Wave to Ally MacBeal. its most recent counterpart might be 'Magnolia', from the opening narrtion with its comic chaos theory, and its narrative about disparate people trying to connect, to the godlike force that contrives to do so. But it's much more treasurable than that. i loved this film. I loved the adorable Audrey Tautou, funny and smart, with huge melancholy eyes - a 21st century Audrey Hepburn. I loved the way the film felt like a cinematic novel without being literary. I loved the way the mystery plots took on emotional dimensions - the connection of clues to recover the past to restore happiness. I loved the colours, especially those rich reds; the wistful accordian music; the love of vignettes, photographs, chance, fantasy, dreams...
  
  

• It's probably silly...

  
  By A1TWTULVD6F22O on 2003-03-25
  ....P>I saw Amelie first in the theater, but my real appreciation is for the DVD. The transfer to DVD is almost legendary, it is done so well. It helps to start with the magical direction of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who oversaw impeccable camerawork and a script loaded with charm into the film you will see on the DVD. It was obviously a labor of love, and Jeunet worked nearly as hard on the special features that accompany the film on the 2-disc set. The audition tapes, the story of the "home movies" within the film and the chats with Jeunet and the cast are all captivating.

  Jeunet successfully uses voiceover as a tool in the film, allowing the viewer to quickly react to the situations encountered by both child and adult Amelie. He's artistically clever with his music, with flashbacks, and with dream sequence to give you a series of interconnecting events, all leading up to the theme of redemption and the enjoyment of life through the joy you give to others. In particular, the use of photos, the booby traps for a local grocer with a nasty temper, and the delightful traveling garden gnome are creative and funny.

  There would be no story without Audrey Tatou, the whimsical actress who embodies Amelie. Audrey Hepburn at a young age, she is incredibly charming and quirky. It will be interesting to see if her career takes her beyond this, a signature role.

  You'll love owning and watching Amelie, it is one of life's small treasures!
  
  

• A film to truly cherish

  
  By AEM0D3OFOR9RQ on 2002-08-16
  Pour moi, this film is the gift that keeps on giving. A sweet, romantic and inspiring modern classic, this French film is like comfort food. If a bad day is plaguing you, pop this one in and revel in its instant catharsis. Starring doe-eyed, instantly charming Audrey Hepburn incarnate Audrey Tautou as the shy but quirky main character, the viewer is instantly transported into her delicately colored, imaginative world. Amelie leads a quiet life, working as a waitress in a restuarant filled with dysfunctional characters, occasionally caring for her friend's cat and indulging in simple pleasures. Then one fateful day, her life changes forever. Upon finding a childhood keepsake and returning it to the owner, she becomes a secret guardian angel to the people around her. But while she can make others happy, she just can't seem to make things click with handsome stranger Nino (the talented and good looking Mathieu Kassovitz). The story plays out in a magical Parisan backdrop that only adds to the story's charm. The film is slow, sweet torture when it comes to the unfolding romance between Amelie and Nino, but when it gets to the climax, you can't help feeling amazing. Even when I watch this for the 100th time I get that heart-pumping, mind-blowing feeling of true love. So make a list of your likes and dislikes and indulge.
  
  
• La Beauté pure et simple
  By on 2001-11-11
  I write that review in English in fact that I am French. Why? Because I hope all American people from this planet will see that movie. Personaly, I saw it 4 times.
  Amelie is not just a woman, it is all a way of thinking. Optimism, love, respect, generosity, humor, sensibility, beauty, art, everything. By this, we see that there is a simple way to find happiness, in the simple things of life. The actors are all, all wonderful, playing easily with their eyes, face, to make us, in the audience, feel their emotions.
  In one scene, Amélie confess that she likes seeing the faces of all the people in a movie theater, just to see their expressions. And we see, in the same time, the faces of the audience where she is. I am sure, totally sure that all the people who saw that movie had the same smiles that we see in the audience inside the movie that she sees.
  USA, go to see it, it will put a breeze, a touch of Grace inside your heart. And you will have, on those hard days, the motivation to change the world around you. Because Amélie will change you for sure.
  Enjoy! C'est un film merveilleux!
  
  
• A mellifluous film
  By A27PSZX2SE0B51 on 2001-12-04
  The Toronto International Film Festival has a history of picking arty hits before they break. Past winners of its prestigious Audience Award include "Chariots of Fire" (1981), "The Princess Bride" (1987), "The Fisher King" (1991), and, most tellingly, over the last three years it has honoured "Life is Beautiful", "American Beauty", and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". The 2001 award went to a film that fully lives up to that lofty pedigree: "Amelie".

  "Amelie" is a movie that inspires one to use an assortment of frothy adjectives: whimsical, surreal, pleasant, charming, magical, effervescent, and inspiring. I could go on, but I figure it also deserves to have its praise sung in complete sentences.

  It begins with a kinetic retelling of Amelie's childhood. The product of overprotective parents, Amelie develops a shy nature, but also an abundant imagination. This section also introduces an appealing way to sketch characters: through their likes and dislikes. Amelie's father loves the simple pleasure of cleaning out his toolbox. Her mother hates garden gnomes. Amelie herself gets lost in the activity of skipping stones across the water. It's a neat little short hand that the film uses to quickly introduce the audience to its characters. Better to spend your time showing the characters involved in the story, than to waste too much time on needless character exposition.

  When Amelie grows up, we see her simple little life: working at an eclectic diner, walking the streets of Paris, and retreating to the solitude of her apartment, where she can surreptitiously spy on her neighbours (my favourite: The Glass Man, so named for his brittle bones, who's always painting a replica of Renoir's 'The Luncheon of the Boating Party'.). A chance discovery leads Amelie on a quest to quietly do good deeds, in order to make everybody else's life better. But who is to make Amelie's life better? Watch closely, and be prepared to be moved.

  Amelie's actions reminded me a lot of the main character in another foreign art-house hit, featuring a charismatic and beautiful female lead sprawling out across her city in an attempt to counteract the fates, "Run Lola Run". Where Franka Potente's Lola was all kinetic energy and brute physical power, Amelie relies on her playful nature to make things right again. Audrey Tautou, who plays Amelie, sports a lopsided haircut, has huge but asymmetrical eyes, and a glorious smile. She stomps around Paris in pretty dresses and clunky shoes. I dare you to try and take your eyes off of her. Her charisma is so magnetic you could stick her on your fridge. But Tautou is also perfectly adept at portraying Amelie's more shy moments. It is this contradiction, the attractive but introverted young woman, which makes Amelie such an appealing and fascinating character. She is surrounded by a wonderful cast, portraying a menagerie of wonderful characters. Standouts include Serge Merlin as the aforementioned Glass Man, Isabelle Nanty as a hypochondriac tobacconist, and Jeunet regular Dominique Pinon as a hyper-jealous diner customer.

  Take another look at the list of adjectives in the first paragraph above. Could they also be applied to the other films in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's filmography? "Delicatessen"? Magical, maybe. "City of Lost Children"? Surreal, surely. "Alien Resurrection"? That's a tough one. The point is that "Amelie" is a drastic left-turn for the French writer-director. It's much lighter in tone, is set in a world that more or less closely resembles our own, and is truly life affirming. But Jeunet retains his sense of flair with the camera. "Amelie" is a wonder to look at, in that it's composed of a series of beautiful and kinetic shots, which serve to push the story along and create insight into its characters. Witness one scene, where a young man asks advice from his boss at a Sex Shop. They casually talk about the mysterious woman trying to get his attention. But the camera slowly zooms in to reveal that said conversation is taking place while they are pricing and stocking boxes of dildos. Jeunet has a perverse sense of humour, and this is just one shining example of it. He also provides his film with a wonderful score, taken from old Paris, but updated to reflect the film's more magical moments (those magical moments include: Amelie, in a moment of embarrassment, turns to water and splashes to the floor; Her bedside lamp, which has a pig in a suit as it's base, reaches out and turns itself off).

  "Amelie" manages a fine balance between a ridiculous sense of fun and severe melancholy. It gets both emotions just right. Some would say that at over 2 hours, the film runs too long. I beg to differ. I could have spent the whole afternoon and most of the night exploring Amelie's fascinating little world. Be prepared for a sense of loss when the credits finally roll. You'll surely miss the joys of "Amelie" once they're gone.
  
  

• Pure French Charm
  By ACIBQ6BQ6AWEV on 2003-01-01
  With its opening sequence of kalidescopic visuals and rapid-fire narration, viewers who do not speak French (myself included) are likely to find Jean-Pierre Jeunet's celebrated AMELIE a challenge, for it is rather difficult to watch the film and read the subtitles at the same time. That said, once you are able to sycronize these elements in your head, you are in for a treat: AMELIE is simply one of the most charming films to emerge from France in many, many years.

  Considering that the film is both foreign and subtitled, and therefore presumably has a somewhat limited appeal for English-only audiences, it's story has become remarkably well-known in a very short time among English-only audiences--a fact that attests to its power. Amelie is a shy, somewhat reclusive young woman, the product of an emotionally distant father and profoundly neurotic mother, who hides from life as a waitress in a small cafe while cultivating "small pleasures"--skipping stones over water, dipping her hands into sacks of grain at the local market to feel the texture, and the like. One day she discovers a box hidden behind the wall of her apartment bathroom, a tiny box filled with childhood toys stashed away by a long-ago childhood tenent. She sets out to return them to the now-adult man who hid and forgot them so many years before... and when she sees his pleasure she finds a purpose in life: she will secretly do things to make others happier in their life, thereby vicariously living out the happiness she herself is afraid to accept. In the process she not only brings life-changing joy to those around her, but she discovers her own need for happiness and the courage to change that she might experience happiness for herself.

  The story is actually quite slight, but director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, his star Audrey Tautou, and a remarkable cast of supporting players give it tremendous style and an unexpectedly self-mocking sense of humor. The film is full of visual metaphors: at various moments we see the hearts of different characters beating inside their bodies, Amelie fantasizes about hearing herself lectured by the television, the object of her affection is teased by talking photographs, and in one particularly memorable scene Amelie's disappointment is envisioned by morphing her body into a column of water that collapses with a splash to the ground. The characters are mix of archetypes and glitchy eccentricity; the cinematography is shockingly beautiful; and everything about the film is gentle, sweetly funny, and sure to leave you with a Gallic smile and a wish that life were actually like that.

  Tautou is a remarkable young actress who has been widely compared to both Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron--and indeed there is more than a passing similarity. But she plays the title role with a knowing quality that belongs to her alone, and although the role (and indeed all roles in the film) is essentially archetypical her performance has a youthful grace slightly tempered by unexpected self-awareness: extremely effective and extremely endearing. The film would be worth seeing for this performance alone, but fortunately AMELIE is remarkably rich in all its elements.

  Those expecting "depth" may disappointed, for the life-lessons the films offers are not profound in themselves; others may find the film's odd mix of Brechtian distance, sly wit, and warmth a bit off-putting--and it would be easy to read the film as a somewhat diadactic comedy that doesn't entirely come off. But if you can grasp the thought that the film isn't about anything beyond making you chuckle, smile, and rejoice in the small pleasures of life, you will find it extremely, extremely enjoyable. The DVD comes with a second disk full of extras, including audition footage, outtakes, and the like that both cinephiles and Francophiles are sure enjoy. Recommended.
  
  

• Wonderful!
  By A3MPEDYM4DGS5O on 2002-06-02
  What a fun film! From the moment it begins, "Amelie" bursts with joy and energy. It's a fable of sorts, a love letter to a Paris fondly dreamt of by many. It may not be the real world, but it is such a delightful fantasy that it doesn't matter how unbelievable some of it may be. "Amelie" is the rare romantic comedy that has both the romance and the comedy. It isn't very surprising that this has been a hit in France for a while now, and I have no doubt it will find the audience it needs in the States as well.

  Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a naive girl working at the Two Windmills Cafe. When she was a child her mother and teacher was an innocent victim of a suicide gone awry. Amelie stayed with her father until she was old enough to leave and lead a life of her own. One day she finds a small box of treasures behind a tile in her wall, she decides to return it to her owner and become a natural do-gooder. Later on, she catches a man groping for lost photos under a photo booth (Nino Quincampoix, played by Mathieu Kassovitz), and it's love at first sight. She decides to go on a quest to find this man and help anyone she can along the way (including her father and co-workers).

  I said before that this film was a love letter to Paris, it is also a love letter to Amelie herself. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (director and co-screenwriter) conjured the film like a dream, as if Amelie is his dream girl and he is trying to save her and bring her to a happy ending. It's not hard to want everything to work out for her and her friends. Amelie Poulain is the kind of person who you wish was your best friend, your neighbor or your sister. She bounces along with good grace and whimsy living life to its fullest, yet keeping a mischievous grin. She has her own idea of justice that isn't very disagreeable. The tormentors must in turn be tormented; the lifeless must be brought to life. The film is like a non-musical "Bells Are Ringing", with our heroine bringing so much life to those around her but neglecting her wants and needs.

  After seeing Audrey Tautou as Amelie, I can't possibly imagine anyone else in that role. She embodies Amelie like no one else could, she is a rare find that pulls off the job of breathing life into Amelie in spades. Wait, I take that back. She does not just breathe life into Amelie, Tautou makes her jump off the screen and pull the audience into the story. It would be a crime for her not to get a Best Actress nomination for her role.

  Magical is the world that Amelie lives in, where photos and lamps come alive to aid her quest, where TV shows are showing nothing but her story. The story this setting surrounds is pretty standard, and presented plainly could have just been another machine-processed romantic comedy. Is it too sappy? No. On the contrary, the film takes quite a few steps to make sure it doesn't become tacky or conventional. The rich, storybook setting and a witty screenplay (asides are taken to deepen our connection each character, little things that each likes and dislikes) make the film all the more a delight to watch. The cinematography, crafted by Bruno Delbonnel, does wonders for "Amelie". The camera captures the action with an eye of a child in a candy store, beautifully bringing about each shot as a new discovery.

  With films like "The Widow of Saint-Pierre", "With a Friend Like Harry" and box-office hit "Brotherhood of the Wolf", French cinema has had quite a year. It's a delight that we round off the year with "Amelie", a fresh, funny journey that could have easily just been more Meg Ryan-esque romantic comedy fodder. If not for anything else, see it for Tautou's performance, but prepare to be smothered in a dream world.
  
  

• Let Amélie bring magic into your life!
  By A2EGK0YRDF4ZZB on 2002-02-27
  Amélie was the most charming, unusual and totally unexpected film I`ve ever had the pleasure to see. It features a quirky cast of characters, beautiful and unusual cinematography, a magnificent soundtrack, and an original, magical story.

  The film begins with a random, startling voiceover: "On September 3, 1973, at 6:28 pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14 670 wingbeats a minute lands on St. Vincent Street, Montmartre." We are introduced to the other characters by a similar stringing together of tidbits of information that form a giddy bubbly necklace: the cat enjoys listening to children's stories, Joseph, spurned lover of Suzanne, owner of the Two Windmills and ex-circus rider, likes popping bubble wrap, Raphael Poulain likes stripping wallpaper but dislikes clingy swim trunks, Nino Quincompoix, employee at the Porno Palace who collects torn up photographs from under photo booths, Lucien, grocer's assistant who is slow with words but quick with smiles, Monsieur Dufayel, an old man born with brittle bones who shields himself from reality in his padded apartment, painting the same Renoir over and over again.

  We see Amélie grow up before our very eyes, raised by a strict father who never hugs or touches Amélie, who yearns for contact. Flash forward to the future: Amélie is now a waitress at the Two Windmills Café in Montmartre. Her wide brown eyes and mischievous smile lend her a pixyish air. We could all learn a thing or two from Amélie: smile frequently, and do something nice for someone to brighten their day. Her life changes forever on the morning that Princess Di's death was announced to the world, and the rest of the film follows her adventures. Amélie's world is one of magic, one where pictures talk and objects come to life.

  The cinematography is equally jarring, switching from handheld camera to vintage footage to pieced-together photos to animations and back. The film has a sepia wash that gives it an aged appearance, adding to its charm. The soundtrack, composed by Breton Yann Tiersen, is quintessentially Parisian: accordion waltzes accompanied by the rather unexpected sound of typewriters and music boxes. Piano plays a central role in the scoring, and some of the songs are vintage oldies, record hiss and all, others have gypsy flair. Buy the soundtrack if you have a chance, you will not regret it. It is a melodious blend of classical, Parisian bistro and film music that will stay in your ears for days.

  If you're looking for a break from everyday drudgery, look no further than Amélie. Her magic is contagious and will brighten your day.
  
  

• happy and entertaining
  By A3GKVH75I0EBWM on 2002-12-11
  I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! It may not be an intellectual feast for the mind, or a gritty documentary about the pain and suffering of real life, but it DOES remind us of the simpler side of life and what it is to see the world as a child might see it. This is entertainment, so I must protest, it is entitled be whatever sugar-coated confection it wants to be! And it is not really so sugar-coated. Nino works in a porn shop (though it is surprisingly un-seedy), and other characters have their problems (though they seem surprisingly easy to solve by our irrepressible heroine). Amelie is a sweet, Ally McBeal-esque girl who has never really grown up. She is still the little girl who lives in a world of her own imagination. And if those glasses are rose-coloured, who are we to say that the way she sees the world is worse than the more pessimistic brand of cynicism that seems to be so rampant in "realism" today? Amelie reminds us that perhaps, after all, the children, with their innocent idealism and little games, have somehow got it right.

  Both Amelie and her accidental "amoureux" are adorable, though I thought perhaps Jeunet might have taken a cue from Jane Austen and pointed out that Amelie's interference with other people's lives, like Emma, sometimes turned out badly (like Georgette and her psychotic lover), and Amelie should have taken some responsibility for that. But perhaps that is my North American liberalism speaking. I loved the integration of the fantasy with reality: talking pig-lamps, the photographs that speak to Nino about the "beautiful" mysterious girl....are they merely manifestations of Nino and Amelie's subconscious thought, or is destiny really working miracles to bring them together? And it is the pointing out of the details of life that holds the movie together in terms of story. After all, most people's stories are manifested through the details...this is the stuff life (or at least an ideal one) is made of...c'est la vie. And everybody, not just Amelie and Nino, has their quirks. I thought the narrated introduction at the beginning of the film quite funny in its portrayal of the silly and the absurd that really, though exaggerated, makes up much of our lives. And the characters! Oh the characters! There's not a sane one in the lot (it has been said that the French have their own distinct brand of madness..j/k)! Nevertheless, we see echos of people we know in each of them, in the jealous boyfriend, the angry grocer, the kind painter, etc. And perhaps there is an Amelie in some of us too, shy introverts who think up strategems to avoid confronting our true passions.

  Last but not least, the cinematography is excellent. It may not be realistic (I lived in Paris for a few years and it isn't), but it's a pretty fantasy of an Ideal Paris.

  All in all, it's a satisfying fantasy with a happy ending. And in these days, don't we all need some more happy endings?
  
  

• Pure Magic
  By A33KXAI8L7BUS3 on 2001-11-26
  Why I loved this movie: First off, it's in french, subtitled. Which I love, because I adore the sound. Secondly, it's surreal. Beautifully weird. Thirdly, I totally identify with Amelie, which is probably going to sound really bad once I start talking about the movie.

  Basically, it's a fairytale. This girl grows up in a very cold family, so she developed a very active fantasy life (which thankfully didn't involve dancing mice), but no social skills. So when the movie really starts, she's 23, but already has a number of eccentric habits, and she's basically started down that path that ends with 45 cats in a studio apartment. She has an eclectic, but very nice apartment, she still visits her father every week, even though he doesn't seem to care, she has a job as a waitress in a cafe near Montmartre. She goes through life as an observer, not a participant, and there's nothing to make her get more involved. So then one day--the day Lady Di died--she finds a box in her apartment that belonged to a little boy 40 years before. And she decides to find him. She decides that if he is pleased to get the box back, she'll continue doing good things like that. And if he isn't, well, so what. You don't need to know more than this.

  All that you really need to know is that it's wonderful. It's like watching a deLint story, almost. It's fabulously surreal, it's gorgeous, it has little bits of magic in an ordinary life. Amelie is a French Jilly, but not so chipper. She's gloriously fey--the poster makes her look almost scary--and so nice. She still at 23 has a very active imagination, and she manages to be pure evil (in an okay manner) once in the movie. I want this movie. It was a little sad, very sweet, hysterically funny, and utterly charming all in one. It goes on my list to buy, as if I'll ever find it in the states. As it is, I'm probably going to go see it sometime this week.
  
  

• Instead of "Chocolat" here we have "Marshmallows"
  By A1IU7S4HCK1XK0 on 2002-08-05
  The visual theme of "Amelie" is the garish neon lighting found in French street fairs and the childish confectionary peculiar to the street fair or carnival--that is, guimauve or marshmallows. French marshmallow are nothing like the white pillow puffs we know; they are long strips of soft sugar candy that are dyed rose pink, banana yellow and sickly pistachio green. The colors of the marshmallows tint almost every scene in "Amelie" to tell you that life is a carnival fun-house, with something weird, nasty or fun at every hidden turn.

  The cinematography is incredible--each shot is framed like a painting. But wait, there IS a story here, oh yes, and it is well-told, too, because the script starts with a little pile of jigsaw puzzle pieces and by the end of the film you are dropping each into place to complete the story. It's brilliant.

  The theme is love, hurt and risk, nothing unusual in that. But the story is quirky and very, very funny. You are left at the end wondering how anyone could come up with a film like "Amelie." But, I am sure glad they did. It's one of my favorites, even more charming than "Chocolat" and a lot more complex.

  One and only one criticism; the subtitles are sometimes way, way off. As in, really wrong. I'm not talking about an interpretation problem of a French idiom, some of the subtitles are just translated incorrectly, making for a bit of confusion unless you happen to have a French speaker handy to clarify. But this is a small flaw that really doesn't detract too much from the overall delight.
  
  

• Au-dela des mots!!!
  By A1ZEC2CUWJD8OM on 2002-04-24
  Although I have studied French @ University to PhD Level & have therefore been influenced by French cinema, I can objectively say that Amelie is a movie that can inspire & mesmerise the most hardened anglophone. Perhaps one of great cultural changes of recent times has been Hollywood's embrace of more & more foreign language movies (Life Is Beautiful, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Ring, Audition to name but a few). Amelie's appearance is therefore as timely & strategic as it is wonderful. The film embarks on a magical journey of a young & naive girl who works as a waitress in Montmartre & the quirks of her everyday life & the people with whom she encounters. Amusing & touching, & perfectly shot, the tight script & gripping colours & cinematography render this oeuvre a captivating watch which shall mesmerise again & again. Audrey Tatou plays the ingenue with such wit & charm (as the cheeky cover alone suggests) as a woman who influences others more than she wishes her own life to be influenced. Some of the most captivating scenes are Tatou dashing pebbles across the water (it's ony about 15 seconds long but majestically shot) & the character introductions at the beginning (her parents are wickedly hilarious) & the evil greengrocer & Amelie's revenge on him. If there's one movie you should consider purchasing it is definitely this. Perhaps my favourite French movie now (along with Les Visiteurs, Manon Des Sources & Cyrano de Bergerac), it shall get repeated plays on my DVD player. Great extra features too!
  
  
• Paris in the springtime
  By A1D2C0WDCSHUWZ on 2003-03-18
  Don't read reviews of the French film "Amelie" in advance, because the impression you'll get before you see it is: This is "Emma" on acid. And it isn't -- it's a sweet, whimsical, weird, and touching little tale about a shy young woman with a big heart. She's nobody's little weasel... yet! But as the movie progresses, you'll rapidly want to see her become somebody's little weasel.

  Amelie (Audrey Tatou) is a shy, introspective young woman with a vivid imagination and a quirky sense of humor. One day she accidently finds a little box of toys and photographs, and goes on a little quest to find the owner, decades later, and give him back his box. When the return of the box improves the man's life, Amelie is so pleased that she decides to keep helping others be happy in their own lives.

  She gives a brittle-boned, reclusive old artist videos of pleasant things. She booby-traps a nasty grocer's apartment because of the way he treats a sweet, slow young man preoccupied by the late Princess Di. She directs a jealous man to a hypochondriac tobacconist in the hopes of making them both happy, sends her lonely father's garden gnome around the world (her father is still grieving for Amelie's mother, who was killed by a suicidal Canadian tourist leaping off a cathedral), and her landlady who still grieves for her late, unfaithful husband. But then Amelie encounters a dreamy young man, Nino, and finds a collection of photographs that he has collected. Will Amelie be able to do for herself what she has done for others -- and fall in love?

  It certainly says something about "Amelie" that all the copies were virtually unavailable in my area for the longest time. It's a very sweet, cute, romantic film with a lot of nice visual tricks and likeable characters. If you don't like movies where people can fall in love at first sight, paintings talk, goldfish commit suicide and statues wink, then you won't like this -- one of the best moments is when a quartet of photographs tell Nino that he has fallen in love with Amelie "in your dreams." (It takes a lot to make me melt, but that did it) And it's very rare that in movies, people do nice things just for the sake of it. One of my favorite scenes is Amelie guiding a blind man down the street, rapidly describing the things around them.

  And the little visual tricks, while they aren't totally necessary, are a nice touch to the movie -- Amelie being so unhappy that she turns into a puddle of water, her heart speeding up as she makes eye contact with Nino, and watching news reports about her life on the TV. Romantic moments abound -- a scene where Amelie and Nino hesitantly kiss parts of each other's faces is exquisite. And it's funny too, from the suicidal goldfish to the travelling garden gnome to the grocer's booby-trapped apartment, especially the speed dial that calls a psychiatric ward.

  Audrey Tatou is wonderful as Amelie, managing to be mischievous and innocent, sweet and sad. Matthieu Kassovitz is vastly underrated as Nino Quincampoix, a dreamy young man who works at an adult video store with a gyrating stripper (yes, it's an odd place for Amelie's soulmate to work, but just watch!). Serge Merlin is good as the likeable, gruff, grumpy Dufayel, Rufus is poignant as Amelie's withdrawn dad, and all the supporting actors weave together in a complex plot that centers on... Amelie.

  Like Amelie herself, "Amelie" is sweet and cute and funny and likeable, quirky and romantic. If you have even an ounce of romance in your soul, then sit back and visit "Amelie" in Paris in the springtime.
  
  

• Delicious, like a glass of sparkling burgundy
  By A3CWH6VKCTJAD on 2002-08-10
  I don't often view foreign language films. I find it maddening to try to read the subtitles and watch the film at the same time. Also, I had heard such glowing reviews about this film that I was prepared to be disappointed as well as frazzled. I could not have been more wrong.

  This is a wonderful, wonderful film. Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is a mousey girl living in Paris whose life is so ordinary that it borders on pathetic. One day she discovers a tin box in her apartment with little toys and keepsakes of a young child that was hidden behind a wall decades ago. She sets out on a mission to find the boy and return the treasures to him. If the mission has a positive effect, she vows to devote herself to doing good deeds for others. This leads to numerous touching and droll adventures, where Amelie doles out her own personal brand of justice to various characters, both good and evil. Along the way she discovers love and turns it into a cat and mouse game of mystery and fascination, making her lover fall for her and pursue her without ever knowing who she is.

  The story is brilliantly written, with a wry sense of humor. Only the French could make mundane situations so funny, ironic, charming and philosophical at the same time. It is a marvelous mix of intrigue, misdirection and offbeat humor. Director Jean Pierre Jeunet squeezes the maximum amount of wit, sentimentality and humanness from every frame. The Parisian street scenes are wonderfully done showing us more of an insider's look at Paris than a tourist's guidebook.

  Audrey Tautou is captivating in the lead role. She reminds me of Audrey Hepburn, full of breathy enthusiasm with a twinkle in her eye and mischief on her mind. When she is good she's wonderful, and when she's bad she's even better.

  This is an enthralling delight of a film, like a glass of sparkling French burgundy. It will make you chuckle and tug your heart strings. I rated it a 10/10. Even if you hate subtitles, see this film. You won't regret it.
  
  

• Who Cares if the Film doesn't Portray Reality
  By A1HO42MXKLS16C on 2002-11-03
  I've been reading some reviews for this film and I really don't care for how unrealistic this film is said to be. Yes...life is not like the movies, but can we not have the movies take our mundane lives and artistically manipulate it into something more? One French reviewer said that it did not portray Paris in the way it was at all. I don't think that really was the point of the movie, nor to portray the most intelligent protagonist. Amelie is a simple girl. There is nothing wrong with that. The world consists of more than just intellectuals. We already know what the world is like...what reality puts forth. Why would we have to sit through a movie that shows all of that if we can just step outside our door? I believe that movies are a form of escape...artistic expression...a way to give form to our dreams. I don't believe we should make all our movies with our heads in the clouds, but it's good that once in awhile, someone can create something not out of pragmatism but just pure, simple human emotion and fantasy. The movie was not meant to be a documentary. Everyone nowadays flocks to the blockbuster hits...action films...films with provocative actresses and promiscuity...or even the downright hardcore films that portray reality right down to its extreme complexities (Requiem For a Dream, FIght Club, which i do like). It's a nice change to watch a simple film that focuses on artistic imagery and musical score rather than fast paced plot and sexually, superficially stimulating fidgeting with bad actors. I feel that this movie shows how we forget about the simple things we all can afford in life...how we forget how refreshing and liberating those simple things can be.
  
  
• Audrey Tautou's "Beautiful Mind"
  By A367Q9VRWQZG7W on 2002-03-06
  After seeing "Forrest Gump" in 1994, I swore that wild horses couldn't drag me to another "feel good" movie. A friend tricked me into seeing "Amelie", and I entered the theatre prepared to throw popcorn at the screen and yell sarcastic remarks at the corny parts. Being a crumudgeon is an ugly job, but someone's got to do it. I was tricked! I didn't realize that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet had a secret weapon, Audrey Tautou, and I was reduced to this weepy/happy old fool. The magical Ms. Tautou captured my heart and soul in the role of the Parisian merry prankster, Amelie. This is the movie that should sweep the Oscars, but probably won't win a single one, because it's a French production. So on Oscar night, when "Amelie" goes unnoticed, I can throw popcorn at my T.V. screen and yell sarcastic remarks at boneheads of the Academy. Being a crumdgeon isn't an easy job...
  
  
• Do not waste times reading reviews, just go see the movie
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2002-12-16
  "Amélie" is a film where you want to find the perfect word for describing its charm. There is probably such a word in French, but I would not know what it was. All I know is that quirky, enchanting, and everything I come up with in English is wholy inadequate to the task at hand. The most important thing to know is that "Amélie" is a film where you should go see it because so many people love it, even if it requires you to not to do anything else so you can read the subtitles (some people resist such demands and--shudder--listen to dubbed versions of "Life is Beautiful" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). I feel about this film the way I did about "Memento," where I told people they should see it and refused to tell them anything else because it would ruin the experience (think the Heisenberg principle). However, I think the audience that would enjoy "Amélie" is considerably wider than those who would cotton to "Memento" (which was a quirky little film).

  So, I am giving you my strongest recommendation for you to see "Amélie." Now, if you have not yet seen the film, please go away, because I want to talk to those who have seen the film and while I am not going to be providing what we would traditionally consider "spoilers," you really sure come to view this film as pure and chaste as the driven snow (of which we have lots up here).

  I find it interesting that the film's French title "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" was reduced to just "Amélie" for American consumption. Combined with the green framed portrait of actress Audrey Tautou smiling impishly as the title character, this certainly does not give viewers a real idea of what they will discover in this film. One of the chief charms of the film for me was how you had to pay attention to the details because almost everything was a clue as to future developments (the exception that proves the rule would be Blubber, whose return we patiently waited for throughout the entire film).

  Jean-Pierre Jeunet establishes the fabulous world of Amélie Poulain in the creative prologue, which establishes what each of our cast of characters likes to do. We then begin 48 hours in which d'Amélie's life is changed. Of course such massive developments hinge on a bottle cap fallen to the floor. Our heroine's efforts to sabotage the life of Collignon (Urbain Cancelier), the Grocer (who will never be confused with an artichoke), struck my funny bone exceedingly hard and her relationship with the Glass Man, Raymond Dufayel (Serge Merlin), was particularly nice, both their discussions about the girl with the wine glass in the Renoir painting and the old man giving her the final push to her destiny. The only question is whether Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), is really good enough for our girl, but if she is smitten with a man who collects torn up and discarded photographs from photo booths around town, who are we to challenge her choice?

  The end of the fabulous 48 hours at which point our heroine finds her destiny does not offer a perfect world. Some find true bliss in love, others finally go on trips, but some still right where they started, unpublished, afflicted by imaginary illnesses, or consumed by jealousy. But as long as Amélie lives happily ever after we are content. I pity the person who does not fall in love with this film.
  
  

• A fabulous movie of destiny!
  By A2QP1PWPGJU2ST on 2002-10-27
  Let me make something perfectly clear right from the start. Amelie is not a comedy. Amelie is not a romance movie. Amelie is nothing less than a work of fine art! Amelie is certainly not a romantic comedy and if you set out to judge it by these standards you are apt to be disappointed. Also bear in mind that like a classical symphony, it must be experienced several times before this wonderful movie can be fully appreciated.

  I first heard the word, "Amelie" on a pay-per-view ad, the first thing I thought of was a brand of motor oil from the fifties. (Maybe spelled Amalie?), "Well", I thought, "any girl named after a brand of engine oil is worth checking out". Then when I saw the teaser on TV I thought; "Any movie that features a black-haired, doe-eyed pixie and an animated pig-lamp must be worth seeing".

  I expected a light entertainment, a bit-o-fluff romantic comedy, and thats exactly what I saw. But deep in my soul I began to sense something else. So I watched it again and a whole new world began to reveal itself. then somewhere around the fifth viewing it hit me; This is cinematic magic! A symphonic dream of light, sound and love brought to life for all to see. Yes, it took five viewings before it got through my hard shell of cynicism. I am so glad it did!

  Amelie lives in a beautiful fantasy world where streets are clean and uncongested. A world where waitresses and store clerks find happiness and love. Where bad guys get there comeuppance and not a single drop of blood is spilled. For anyone who grew up lonely, got picked on but never picked for the team, those who would never be a cheerleader or have a chance to date one, this movie tells your story. The entire film is populated with also-rans. Lame bartenders, failed writers, hypochondriacs. People like we meet everyday in the grim, soul crushing, ultraviolet stained world of reality. But these lucky souls live in a beautiful, green and orange colored world where hope still lives and dreams still come true.

  After a long, hard, day at work, when I've dodged all the angry and bitter people on the freeway and performed all the daily chores that let me keep resident on earth for yet another day, then its time. I take off my shoes, relax and enter Amelie's little world. Soon I feel the anger and depression slip away and for a while, life is worth living again.

  Maybe this movie should be prescribed as therapy.

  
  
  

• Fall In Love With Amelie....
  By A1241U6QCSX5YJ on 2001-11-14
  emma is reborn for the 21st century and her name is amelie.

  director jean-pierre-jeunet does a variation on the classic jane austen character and recreates a marvel for the ages. amelie's life story is like a cartoon, and yet the cartoon is a believeable as real life. nothing happens quite the way you expect and the result is in the name of goodness. she is not gorgeous, but she is cute; her face is unforgettable; she is the patron saint of the outcasts, wonderfully left of center.

  i'll try to explain this movie, but it will be an injustice. amelie appears to help those who need it: she finds a small box of toys under the sink in her bathroom, the night princess di dies. they belonged to a former tenant from 40 years ago. amelie gets the toys to the owner without being discovered. and when the man finds the box, he is in tears and reevaluates what's important in his life. amelie then goes on to play matchmaker for two jaded hearts who hang out at the resteraunt where she works as a waitress, and she becomes an avenging angel, fighting for a dim bulb employee at a vegetable stand who is constantly taunted by his boss. i'll just say she finds subtle ways to drive him mad.

  amelie becomes all things to all people, but she is shy and introverted; she then meets a man, nino, who changes her life...

  the " laughter " ratio in this movie is 5:1. that means i was laughing every five minutes. it is laugh out loud funny. it is also full of romance and passion. every character is memorable. the people in the two windmills resteraunt, remind me of the characters from the ice man cometh, only sober. the cinematography and the special effects are boffo. it's like living in another world for two hours. the term " life affirming " gets thrown around alot when it comes to movies like this, but this film deserves it. Audrey Tautou ( as amelie ) will undoubted be compared to another audrey ( hepburn ), for her pixieesque presence. but ms. tautou puts a stamp on the movie that is hers alone. fall in love with amelie
  
  

• Look Past the Cover Art!
  By A2Z1K2I2EYSKFA on 2003-09-13
  I first noticed "Amelie" when going through the local DVD rental store... A woman told me that she couldn't get past the cover art of the washed- out face of Amelie to try renting the movie. The exterior art, honestly does no justice whatsoever to the gem of a disc inside (the character does not look pale like the cover photo suggests).

  I get very curious about the obscure titles -- especially the foreign films -- that wind up on the shelves of the rental stores, so I write down title names and surf imdb.com (internet movie database) to learn more about titles I haven't recognized. And after reading the reviews, I decided to grab the less- than- attractive box and check out the movie.

  Immediately as the root menu is accessed, some rather inviting music accompanies the animated menu. So I set up the audio (no English dub, it's French language in digital 5.1 audio) and was blown away from the moment the opening scene played.

  I knew from the first scene that this had the potential of being a well- written, acted, scripted, and produced movie. And as the credits rolled at the end, I wanted to see more of Amelie, who was a wonderful and genuine character, one you wished lived in your own neighborhood. And I also believe that both women and men would really enjoy this. Most guys would fall in love with Amelie's eyes, and more women would enjoy the sensitive style of creatively showing a woman's emotions. But I get the sense that a few women may not care for Amelie's character, honestly.

  The original music (no lyrics) of composer Yann Tiersen will stay in your head, even if you can't get past the subtitles. Tiersen did a fabulous job of creating a score that suits every scene it's played in. The audio is rich and expansive, and can be enjoyed with even the most basic speakers.

  "Amelie" makes me wish that I had learned French, and I envy anyone who understands the language for being able to understand the dialogue without having to read a translation. It can be a little difficult to have to watch two things at once -- subtitles and a movie -- because early on, you'll feel like you're missing the movie everytime you have to read the translation. But trust me on this, "Amelie from Montmartre" is a movie that you'll enjoy watching again and again. It's a rare treat to find a movie that doesn't get "tired." And as you watch "Amelie" again, you'll enjoy more of the cinematography and the lush, saturated colorful scenes.

  The DVD has many different options to dive into, which is a great thing since you'll probably fall in love with "Amelie."

  PS- For lovers of traditional blues, watch for a B&W clip on the television of an elderly one- legged man tap dancing. His name is "Peg Leg" Sam (Jackson), and there are two CDs of music that this late singer recorded, "Kickin' It" and "Early in the Morning." Well worth the search.
  
  

• magical moviemaking
  By A151RIOIYM1IUG on 2003-01-06
  There are not enough good things to say about this movie. "Amelie" is a fairy tale that never gets boring and always succeeds in making me smile. I bought the DVD on a complete whim without knowing anything about the story, and I am so glad that I did. It's a movie set in reality, in Paris, but it is made to look magical with a rich and oftentimes surreal undercurrent. The cinematography is unlike anything I've seen for a romantic movie; the rich reds, greens and occasional blues paint such a vivid and vibrant picture that fits the whole atmosphere perfectly. More than just the elements of the movie though, there are the two main characters of Amelie and Nino, whose connection is quite tangible even though they rarely share the screen at all. This is a movie that makes me happy, that makes me think that good does exist and that anything is possible. I could watch "Amelie" over and over again; it's one of the few movies that never gets old and leaves me feeling good.
  
  
• rarest blend of filmmaking
  By A1YDPPCDXAPDLH on 2002-06-21
  A splendid script, an actress who distills Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe, the most creative use of digital effects to help the storyline, an effervescent score --- it was criminal that it was denied best foreign film. Like all of us, Amelie weaves personal mythology and dreamscape into a life which is far more than any exterior observer (all but one, the Glass Man, whose fragile bones keep him indoors painting and repainting a Renoir, while observing her across the way) can imagine. When she discovers a tin box holding some boy's memorabilia from decades back, she decides to return Lost Time to him, and finds that small acts can tilt others' destinies around her in unexpected ways. Also like all of us, when the same forces evidently conspire to give her the perfect invitation to introduce herself to the man she's most attracted to, she weaves an elaborate trail of clues and evasions through Paris, tempting fate with a sort of child's gamble, desperately hoping that destiny will, no matter how much she runs from it, bring them together.

  The film is filled with sharp little surprises and sudden laughter as her match-making gambits, her schemes of retribution against the vegetable seller who abuses his retarded assistant, and the plan to get her father to follow in the footsteps of the globe-trotting garden gnome she steals from his garden, all pay off.

  This vision of one young woman's inner world and her conspiracy to outwit mundane fate has the dreamlike timelessness that mark the best films ever made. A film that can fill one with warmth and bring a smile to the face just by telling another person about it is very, very rare.
  
  

• QUIRKY BUT FULL OF GALLIC CHARM!
  By A1YHKSTVSYEYTU on 2002-01-24
  Amélie is the feel good whimsical romantic comedy that has broken all French box office records (around 8 million people in France alone have seen it), charmed many British audiences and is now winning lots of fans in North America. But is it any good? In short, yes. It's very good.

  Don't worry about the subtitles, there's no problem in following screenwriters Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's plot. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's doe-eyed heroine Amélie (Audrey Tautou) has had a lonely childhood and an unsatisfying love life. Her father is a glum recluse, who never offered her any physical contact, warmth or love (but who cherishes his garden gnome) and her neurotic mother was killed by a suicide jumper who hit her on the way down outside Notre Dame. As a result, Amélie has become wrapped up in her dreams as a way of escaping her lonely life. By day, she waits table at a Montmartre brasserie frequented by many eccentric characters and at night, she goes home alone to a little box flat with a rear window from where she can spy on her neighbours and dream of what their lives must be like. Until one day when she discovers a box of discarded toys left behind in her apartment 40 years ago and begins a search for the man-boy who once owned them. Finding that she can make a difference to other peoples lives, Amélie's own life is given a new purpose and a new vocation but can she find love and happiness for herself?

  Some critics have complained that Amélie's is a right wing exercise in nostalgia and that Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's depiction of Montmatre is too lushly perfect, whilst others have criticised it for being nothing more than a rip-off of Jane Austen's Emma. All of these criticisms are unfair (although there are obvious comparisons in the plot that can be made to Emma) and downright offensive. There is no obvious political agenda on display here and so what if the streets of Montmatre are picture postcard friendly? Amélie's Montmartre may just be a dream but it's a beautiful dream. Who cares if in the real France most people eat at Burger King or Mc.Donalds or shop at a supermarket for their groceries? Amélie's Montmartre is an enchanted place, where the water's of the canals are blue and sparkling and the scenery picture perfect.

  Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Director of the much darker Delicatessen and City of Lost Children), has created his own universe and populated it with some wonderfully eccentric characters, thus allowing some of France's finest actors to charm their audience with a proliferation of visual humour and pseudo-philosophical dialogue. In particular, Serge Merlin, the wise old artist from across the street, conjures up magical wisdom and steals most of his scenes, as does Rufus, as Amélie's morose father. However, make no mistake this is the rather beautiful and elfin-like Audrey Tautou's movie and she captures your heart with her big doe-eyes and her mischievous smile and plays the role of Amélie to whimsical perfection.

  Amélie will capture your heart; make you smile, make you laugh and send you off into the night glowing happily, with a little bit of faith and hope in life restored. We all like to feel good about ourselves and Amélie is well worth checking out for anybody who enjoys a little romance and dares to dream.
  
  

• I want to be Amelie
  By on 2002-06-12
  If someone made a movie out of my daydreams and neuroses, I could only hope that it would be as amusing, sweet and entertaining as Amelie. When this film came out here in Iowa, everyone who saw it commanded that everyone they know see it immediately. Very subtitle-friendly--so much visual communication in the movie that non-French-speakers who don't often watch foreign language films won't be annoyed by the subtitles.
  
  
• Amelie
  By A3LR8SZY00IW9Z on 2002-09-16
  Amelie is the most wonderful breath of loveliness to cross the big screen in many years. I chuckle at some of the reviewers who try to treat it as flawed art in some misunderstood tradition. . Let's get back to the basics of life, which is where art comes from. The director of this film followed his spirit, not Hollywood, thank God. This is a French movie, not an American movie; I restate the obvious because I have not seen anything emerge from Hollywood in a decade or more that is this uplifting, this entertaining, this funny, this poignant, this beautiful, and which leaves one feeling so wrapped in love. I don't know whether we Americans have lost the touch, or if we never had it. Oh... wait... Moulin Rouge comes close. I stand corrected. But Amelie reminds me of a long list of movies in the French tradition which leave me smiling and reassured that the world is not spinning off its axis and careening into the fearful abyss. Love and sweetness find their ways through any obstacles, however primitive or modern, and Amelie somehow connects the old and the new with that joi d'vivre wherein the most pathetic of human existences are all revealed to be golden at the core--all respond to the spirit of Love.

  Amelie is entertainment that massages your spirit. Yes, I know I've used that word already; it's intentional--this movie works on the level of the human spirit! The vistas of Paris, from downtown to Montmartre, to the suburbs, will bring you wonderful memories, and if you haven't been to Paris, the movie will GIVE you memories. The trains, the stations, the streets, the cityscapes, the people... oh, and the music. Then let's not forget the charming Audrey Tautou, who delivers a character so sweet it aches in the solar plexus where you crave to know her. If you're dead to the world, you might not like Amelie, but if there is some spark in you that you remember once having but can't seem to find; I promise Amelie will find it and blow on it and set it ablaze again. If you, like me, find yourself looking at the current waves of movies to wash up on the surf from Hollywood, shaking your head and walking away empty handed and wondering if they've simply made all the good movies already and nothing worthwhile is left, this is the movie to spice up that malaise and set your mouth watering again.

  I will spare you another plot synopsis; one really cannot do it justice here anyway, but hear me--from my spirit to yours (oh my, there's that WORD again!) --I can't recommend this movie enough. As the original review stated, this is one of the most charming movies of all time. A classic. If you ever do one thing that ol' Shooshie recommends, do this one.

  Shooshie
  
  

• FANTASIQUE
  By A35NVOZDHB4NXN on 2002-03-15
  See this movie!! It's superb---
  From the director of" Delicatessen", "The City of Lost Children" & "Alien Resurrection"--- (so of course it has Dominque Pinon in it! )
  Infused with a lush soundtrack from Yann Tiersen who also worked on "The Dreamlife of Angels" that carries you delightfully through, on the bouyant beats of the accordian. You'll need to buy it after hearing it-------

  We see Amelie grow up with her odd parents, her father a doctor--touches only each month for a checkup (which makes her heart race--so now he's convinced she has a heart problem) Her mother a schoolteacher--meets her end while they were at church praying for a baby brother--a young woman from Quebec jumps of the roof--right onto her.
  Her father busily spends his time tending her mother's shrine in the backyard--which consists of a large garden gnome---
  Amelie leaves home as soon as possible---becoming a barmaid in a bar where we meet even more strange people---Suzanne,the owner (an ex- circus star with a limp) a woman who is a crazed hypocondriac (Georgette)-- Gina whose ex Joseph (Dominque Pinon) is now a permanant patron of the bar (just to pester her it seems) he tapes conversations and keeps track of all the other male customers he thinks Gina pays to much attention to---

  One day (on the death of Princess Di ) she discovers a box hidden behind a tile in her bathroom---she tracks down the little boy who hid it there--now 40+ years later--she decides if it makes him happy--she'll make that her mission, to help people... She arranges for him to find the box, and once he opens it, he's overcome-- he's found his lost childhood...

  Amelie moves on to aid others---

  This movie is wonderful.....
  
  

• Magical
  By AS9CXWU7KUGF1 on 2002-01-06
  Rather than repeat all of the descriptive words written in many of the other reviews such as charming, magical, etc. (and the movie is most definitely all of that and more), let me simply tell you of my reaction to this movie.

  After the movie was over, I found myself smiling as I left the theatre, thinking about various scenes in the movie. Thirty minutes later, I was smiling, thinking about scenes in the movie. I found myself looking at mundane things as I drove my car home...thinking..."how magical the simple things of life are." The movie made me think that too often we ignore the simple, but meaningful and beautiful things of life while we run toward our goals, ignorant of the beauty that we are passing by. The moview made me want to take a moment and savor life...to savor the way the rain drips off a leaf, to savor a fellow human being just walking down the street...to savor our relationships with each other...to savor what we rush by every day. I was reminded by a scene in Thornton Wilder's play, OUR TOWN, where Emily, who is dead, talks about how we miss most of what is going on around us while we are living. This movie underscored how easy it is for us to fall into such a trap. All I can say is to go see this movie and walk out changed.
  
  

• Make that 121!
  By A19N3GRTJ0S8J8 on 2003-01-11
  According to the American trailers for Amelie, 120 reviewers called this one of the best movies of the year. Well, make that 121. Amelie goes beyond the whimsical into the absolutely fantastic. With humor and poignancy, the story unfolds. Amelie is the lonely child of a distant father and neurotic mother. As she stands childlike in the midst of a young adulthood, she observes human tragedy from the window of her apartment. Upon finding a box of children's treasures in the dark space behind the wall of her bathroom, she begins to try to find the person who would have put it there. This is the beginning of her emergence as a would-be fairy godmother, and her deeds become the portal by which she may be able to join with the rest of the human race as one of them.

  The film is magnificently beautiful, and the casting perfect. Tautou combines the self-knowledge of an introspective young woman with the disingenuousness of an imaginative loner to create an unforgettably charming character.

  The DVD is rich with extra features. What I found particularly compelling was Tautou's audition clip, as the actress seemed so much more contemporary and earthy than the character, but then was able to slip on a coat of whimsy even at that early stage. Also noteworthy is the interview with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who says that he aims to make stories about the extraordinary rather than the ordinary (think City of Lost Children). All in all, this is an excellent film and a great purchase...something I think I'll be watching over and over again.
  
  

• Paris, Je T'Aime (Paris, I Love You)
• Delicatessen (Special Edition)
• La Vie en Rose (Extended Version)
• The City of Lost Children
• A Very Long Engagement