Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain, or just simply Amelie, comes from the famed Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The movie tells the story of Amelie, a shy and introverted girl, who falls in love with a complete stranger, and guides him to her with the help of clues. But that's not all the story is about. It has quite a few sub-plots, each no less interesting than the main plot - we have Amelie's father and his depression, we have the mean shopkeeper who gets paid back for all his bullying, we have Georgette in the Cafe who worries about never finding love, we have Dufayel the brittle-boned painter, and we have the Concierge of Amelie's building, a woman still in love with the dead husband who left her for another woman.Perhaps the best aspect of Amelie is the direction. It's, in a word, fabulous. Each scene is perfectly directed, each shot is well-crafted, each expression focused upon, and while the story-line crosses the borderline between 'Plausible' and 'Implausible' many times, it's still a movie that works - perhaps because of its pure artistic feel? It doesn't pretend to be anything. No, Amelie has all the crispness and honesty of a photograph, it's a simple story, simply told, through a great script, and absolutely amazing acting along the way.
Flawless and perfect, even after taking into account Amelie's rather ridiculous haircut and shoes. Celebrating the hidden joys of life - watch out for the scenes of Amelie dipping her hand into sacks of food, and breaking into a creme brulee. Audrey Tatou plays the role of Amelie to perfection - adding just the right combination of innocence, mystery, and pathos to the role. The movie draws you in with its images of fantasy, its turn to childhood joys, and its bright, vibrant colours. Amelie invites you to fall in love all over again, it draws you in, into a world of its own.
Amelie is hands-down one of the best films I've seen. With themes like childhood nostalgia, love at first sight, and lost love - it's a film that has all the prettiness of a picture postcard, the warmth of a sunny winter morning, and the magic of a fairytale. It's a movie that stays with you not just for a heart-warming story, but for reminding you that life can be beautiful, if one only cares to look beyond the mundane.
6 comments:
Great film.Great review.To get a feel of the film,you just need to watch the opening credits.The cinematography and graphic design is superb.And what i like about the film,is that it's so quintessentially "French".That goes for Amelie's shoes and haircut as well.:)
@ Minka: Thank you. Yes, I loved the opening credits too. The graphic design of the movie IS stunning - everything is just so well put-together. Flawless, absolutely.
Good good review, the movie is very neat.
I like the way Audrey Tautou says Bretodeau. I guess you have watched Priceless(Hors de prix), generally the characters are very neatly drawn in french movies.
aaro kichhu lekho! why is your food blog inactive? :|
@ Soapsuds: Clueless about ideas.
@ A Benevolent Sultan For Life: Thank you. No, haven't seen the one you mentioned, but will check it out.
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