For some reason, foreign films happen to be a huge turnoff to most Americans. These days, it is rarity to find a motion-picture spoken in a non-English tongue gaining interest and exposure in the States. Why is this? Maybe it is the unfamiliar styles and cultures represented, that turns a typical American away. Or maybe it is just the sheer fact that one must suffer through the enormous task of having to read something (subtitles through translation) while watching a movie.
In the case of the French film, Amelie, the subtitles are not, at any time, an annoying distraction from the visuals, nor do they feel like an exhausting chore; they rather go unnoticed and seem altogether nonexistent, due to the film’s playful yet captivating script and its extremely-likable lead.
Amelie is a simple, charming, and coy young female who enjoys the little things in life, like dipping her hand into sacks of grain and skipping stones over small bodies of water. She finds happiness and joy in the simplest of things, but she soon realizes that something in her life is missing. Once Amelie finds a toy tin full of a young boy’s treasured relics and returns it to its much-obliged, and now older owner, she is inspired to go out into the world and help everyone she encounters. In turn, she not only helps all of those around her, but she also helps herself.
Witnessing Amelie’s antics and stratagems, as she acts as the ultimate do-gooder, is not only entertaining but also fantastical. Her silly questions and ways of thinking are unique, comical, and quirky, and make the overall picture extra amusing and enjoyable. The character of Amelie, played by Audrey Tautou, is both perky and delightful, and truthfully, there could not have been a better casting selection for the lead than Audrey. This beautiful brunette possesses such a radiant and attractive aura that she makes the movie bright, feathery, and fun all at the same time.
Article comments
1 - Shark
Just for the record:
Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet also made the hilarioius, surrealistic, and visually arresting "Delicatessen" back in the early 1990s.
I highly recommend it.
PS: nice review of a great film.
2 - Tan The Man
Somehow the "magic" of Amelie failed to hit me when I watched it when it came out. It also failed to hit the two other times I tried to watch it. Sux for me.
3 - Jones Violet
It failed to hit me as well. I ended up falling asleep both times I watched it. Too bad, though, because this review makes it sound really good.
4 - Chris Beaumont
I loved Amelie!
Jeunet has a great(almost) track record: Delicatessan, City of Lost Children, Alien: Resurrection, Amelie, and A Very Long Engagement. All are visually stunning, most are well written and acted.
5 - Triniman
Amelie hit the spot for me. She was also in Dirty Pretty Things, which I can recommend. She looked a lot different than she did in Amelie.