Amelie Reviews

This is truly an inspired movie that captures the magic of romantic comedies without force feeding the viewer romance and comedy (think Serendipity). Both the romance and comedy is subtle and wonderfully portrayed. If you've been searching for a well-done romantic comedy, this is it. Though the subtitles may be off-putting to some viewers, this is not a difficult movie to follow. Give it a chance - you will truly be glad you did.

A brilliantly acted, well told story that will leave the viewer with a smile on his/her face - Amelie deserves the highest mark. 5 stars.

Rating: 5 - An irresistible smile of a film
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.

Rating: 5 - Charming, clever - a delight!
This quirky film won me over from its first moments showing the childhood of Amelie, an imaginative girl born of emotionally stunted parents. From her suicidal goldfish to her belief that her camera causes accidents to her sullen (and hilarious) revenge against her father, Amelie's childhood perfectly describes the rest of the film: both poignantly real and humorously surreal. As an adult, Amelie (Audrey Tautou) retains her impish nature while living in a circumscribed world. She works as a waitress in a café, lives alone in her Parisian flat, and spies on her neighbors. When she discovers by accident a small box hidden behind the tile of her bathroom, Amelie sets out to return it to its rightful owner. Because of the effect this return has, Amelie sets out to do good deeds aimed to change the lives of other people, ignoring the reality that her own life is desperately in need of love.

The plot by itself cannot adequately define this film. The wry voiceovers create a tone of humorous levity, and the cast of off-beat characters lend the feel of a small circus. Warmth and charm and wit abound. The remarkable performance of Audrey Tautou - honest and nuanced - brings the entire film into focus.

I waited far too long to see this film. I highly recommend it for a wide audience, from foreign film buffs to romantic comedy devotees to those looking for a funny, upbeat film to liven up the evening.

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Amelie