Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's (Alien Resurrection) 2001 comedy Amelie is a film I've been meaning to see for a while now. It's a film that I knew nothing about beyond the facts that it starred Audrey Tautou, (who had me hypnotized in the Brit flick Dirty Pretty Things) and that it seems to have quickly become the token foreign film on a lot of top movies lists. Having finally gotten the DVD in a sale I was able to go into Amelie blind, and find myself coming out pleasantly surprised. I'm not a huge fan of the comedy genre, but Amelie made me laugh genuine laughter, something I haven't found when watching a film alone for years.

At it's heart Amelie is a feel good movie. It's visual style, acting style and general tone are designed to make you smile. The story is that of a young woman named Amelie (Tautou), who's father never hugged her, or had any physical contact beyond giving her medical checkups. These times when she felt her father caused her heart to beat faster, and having a fast heart beat at every checkup led him to believe she had a defect. So she lived a sheltered life, until in adulthood she found an old box hidden in her apartment. After tracking down the owner she realizes that giving joy to others brings the greatest joy, and so sets about trying to help as many people as possible.

The main point of joy came from Tautou, who's sweet face and constant smile cause that warm fuzzy feeling that soppy people tend to describe, not that I've ever experienced this, of course! Nevertheless Tautou's on screen charisma is likely to melt the hearts of even the coldest ice queens, even when Amelie is doing some of her crueler things, you couldn't possibly stay mad at that face.

Actually, if I'm perfectly honest, those scenes where she plays a prank are the funniest in the film. When it goes into black comedy it does it with a wicked sense of humor that you will be unlikely to find outside of the style inerrant in French comedy. The best laughs came from Amelie's prank where she leads her father to believe that his garden gnome has upped and gone on a world tour. The looks of confusion and nervousness he gives when he receives the latest photo are hysterical, and the fact that Amelie has noble intentions does not diminish the effect. Plus, I'm ashamed to admit, the death of Amelie's mother was hysterical.

It's not all bad taste though, it's just a little black humor is needed in this film that tells its story from the point of view of a woman with a child's view of the world. When all is said and done, everything Amelie does is with good intentions toward someone, and all of this is simply the build up to a wonderfully sweet romance that develops between Amelie and a young man who is as, unique, as she is. The 2 of them never exchange words, he never even gets to see her, but their feelings are stronger than the romances of anyone else they meet.

Of course everything that I've mentioned so far should become unbearably sweet after about 5 minutes, yet Amelie kept me gripped for it's entire 2 hour running time, something that was helped by the films look. It uses a lot of vibrant colours, particularly bright Red and Green, to produce a world with more colour than an explosion at the play-do factory. Colour has long been associated with emotion, and it's these vibrant colours that go along way in producing the joy that is Amelie.

In summary, if you're looking for a sweet natured, genuinely funny, feel good movie then Amelie is the film for you, so long as you can take subtitles. Personally I would say that it's one of the best, post millennium films that I've seen yet.

This has been my entry into the Lean-N-Mean write-off.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD