I'm so horribly late to the Amelie party. This French film with English subtitles took its sweet time getting around to my part of the world. Finally about four weeks ago, it finally came to a theater near me. It was worth the wait, and having seen it, in hindsight, I'd wait a lifetime. Amelie is everything I've sought in a movie, (and maybe in real life) but never really got. After experiencing this Jean-Pierre Jeunet film, I learned a few very valuable lessons. I learned that in spite of the summer blockbuster, film is still an art and a passion to some writer/directors. I also learned that images on the big screen can make my heart smile. I never even knew that it could do that. So just what is this Amelie and why is it making me sound totally and completely gay?

To tell the story of Amelie is to possibly ruin the charm and discovery of the film. So all I can do is my best to share this beautiful piece of art without giving away too much. Amelie is a quirky story of Amelie Poulan, a little girl born to the oddest of parents. Her mother is a nervous wreck and phobic to boot. Her father is all business, he never gives Amelie the affection she craves and desires from her first male figure.

In the beginning we are introduced to a young Amelie. We get to see her plot for her father's attention, and turn toward her imagination to comfort and entertain herself. Her childhood without friends and bizarre parents definitely shape what Amelie will become. Soon we are introduced to a grown up Amelie, a Parisian waitress played by Audrey Tautou. I doubt that there is another woman on the planet that could have played Amelie. With her huge smile, and melted chocolate eyes, she's adorably introverted and almost not of this earth. Audrey as Amelie is so adorable and sweet that you wish you could fit her into your pocket and take her with you everywhere.

Amelie goes through life alone but turns to the simple pleasure of life like skipping rocks and sitting in the front row of the movie theater so that she may turn around to watch the reaction of the crowd. She constantly entertains herself like any single child with inadequate parents all grown up would. One day something happens that changes her life, unaware it will be the catalyst for change in the lives of others. Amelie makes a discovery of sorts, it is the lost treasure of a young boy from years past. For some reason Amelie is fueled by this and can't stop until she finds the rightful owner.

When Amelie finally accomplishes her mission, a now much older man is brought to tears with the reacquired childhood treasure. This event sets off a spark within Amelie and she feels as if her true calling has been shown to her. She makes it her mission to bring that kind of happiness to everyone that she knows. As Amelie commits selfless acts to bring happiness to others, she does her best to ignore and bury her own loneliness. But joy is not Amelie's only delivery, she even takes revenge against Collignon, a grocer with a mean streak that enjoys berating his young assistant. All along, Amelie pines for a man that has caught her eye. Some strange law of the Cupid order prevents her from simply approaching her love interest.

There are so many levels and layers of simply wonderful ingredients that make Amelie work. You have a charming story, the disarming Audery Tautou as Amelie, and the lovable even cartoonish side characters. The music soundtrack by Yann Tiersen is a mix of sparkling piano work, old French accordions and record crackling love songs. As a director, Jeunet uses a foundation of traditional camera work with dashes of flair.

On occasion, Jeunet makes camera moves like something out of Ferris Bueller's day off, and the prodigal son, Parker Louis Can't Lose. Along with that are hints of David Fincher Fight Club style 'stress cam' shakes. He even makes use of a steady cam to give a sense of wonder that only a child would have. It is so wonderfully obvious that as a director, Jeunet loves film as an art. Amelie was crafted, honed and raised by skilled and loving hands from beginning to end. It is so apparent that Jeunet wanted to celebrate life, our human quirkiness, and our peaks and valleys of existence. Jeunet enjoys taking the smallest of human details and blowing them up to a fantastic scale.

On the edges of the Amelie story are moments that bend reality, a place where pictures talk, lamps disagree and nobody thinks they're crazy. Amelie is everything that movies like Pay it Forward wanted to be, but completely failed to become. Amelie is more like The Spitfire Grill on steroids. Amelie is so overflowing with charm, cuteness and good feelings, that it almost overwhelms you. Just when you think Jeunet has shown all his cards, he captures the best on screen kiss ever. Only Jeunet could capture a kiss that isn't a 'movie' kiss, but something of another magnitude. It's the kind of kiss you deliver when you've rehearsed it in your dreams a million times, never imagining that you would actually plant it.


If you are ready for a film that will not only change the way you look at films; but leave you with a glow as you walk out of the theater, you owe it to yourself to seek this one out. Some critics (heartless bastards) slammed Amelie for being too cute and unrealistic. Sometimes you have to put away the microscope and allow yourself to enjoy and experience a treasure like Amelie. Jeunet's gift on celluloid is a story about a Parisian waitress with a pocket full of rocks. A movie about a cat that secretly enjoys listening in on children's stories being told. A movie about a goldfish looking at its owner with sad eyes. It doesn't make sense, but after you experience Amelie, it all falls into place.

If for some reason Amelie never comes your way, or it did but you passed on it and it's been pulled, I pity you. You missed out on a very unique experience. There is a kind of joy of watching a French film with subtitles in a crowd of people that probably have never seen a film in such a way. To hear the laughter and delight of the crowd I understood that some thoughts, and some emotions are universal. I felt a bit silly as I exited the theater with a big stupid grin, and a slightly drunk feeling. To see the smiles on the faces of other moviegoers anxiously discussing what they just experienced was a rush. I smiled all the way home and smiled in my sleep. Amelie even makes me smile when I tell people about it. Hell, I'm smiling right now. All of that was a big part of the charm and wonder that is Amelie. With an R rating for brief sexual scenes, those with children are better off leaving the kids to watch the 'family flick' while the adults head over to the Amelie section.

If you're wondering just what possessed me to see a French film with English subtitles, I'll tell you. It was one critic that sparked my curiosity. Roger Ebert gave Amelie a glowing review, but it was one small part that caught my attention. Ebert said of Amelie You see it, and later you think about it, you smile. Truer words were never spoken Mr. Ebert. I just wasted so many words saying exactly what that one sentence did. I wonder if it were possible to submit such a short review, would it receive not helpful ratings even though it was completely accurate? The mind reels.


Tony Flores 2002



StrangerSoundLabs.com

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age