amelie
REVIEW
Amelie came into my life with intrigue and wonder. I was first introduced to her while in college. My first year on campus I would wander the halls of my dorm and pop in and out of friend’s rooms. I was always magnetically drawn to their dvd collections. Making new friends I was always curious about their tastes and preferences. I started to notice this bright green dvd cover with yellow font standing out in some of their collections. When I looked at the cover it seemed strange. It was a tight close up of a girl with a funny haircut peeking out from under the emerald green slip cover. There she was, staring right at me…Amelie.
I honestly had not even heard of the movie and had no idea it was French film. At this point in my life I was not very interested in foreign films and was still working my way through the AFI’s top 100 and trying to gage for myself what great films were. My best friend lent me his copy and just told me I needed to see it. He was right, this movie could turn even the smallest darkest dorm room into a charming little hole in the wall. This movie truly has magic in it. It is a movie that I could easily rewatch again and again. It’s charming and idiosyncratic characters only seem to become more enchanting with each viewing.
In large part writer/director Jean Pierre Jeunet’s unique style is what makes this movie something special. In 1989 Jeunet made a short film called “Things I Like, Things I Hate” where Dominique Pinon (an actor he has worked with since the start of his career) just states things that he likes and doesn’t like. Its a simple idea but these pleasures and annoyances are so relatable on such a basic human level that I immediately feel a connection with the character because I now know such an intimate detail that would usually take some careful observation over a good period of time to discover.
I began to think about the little things that I like such as: the smell of movie theater popcorn, or a stormy afternoon with nothing to do, or watching the beads of condensation running off the can of an ice cold Coca Cola on hot summers day. Then there are the things that I don’t like such as : Seeing a spider on my bed/pillow, popping a pimple on the crest of my lip that brings a tear to my eye or people who talk during movies .
I read Jeunet has a notebook filled with these little anecdotes. He started collecting them back in 1974. The more I watch Jeunet’s films I get the sense that he never lost his childhood imagination. He was able to hold on to his sense of innocence and wonder, his movies have this feeling through-out them. That is what makes them such a joy to watch. We are seeing an imagination at work that has not been burdened by the adult world and we are shown the sense of wonder he is able to create in his characters and reminded us of a time when we thought of things more purely.
That is the case with Amelie. The audience is brought into her weird little world and we see Paris, in the neighborhood of Montmartre, through her eyes. We first meet Amelie as a child and discover why she develops into a lonely introvert who finds pleasure in the simplicity of her life. The reason is the embodiment of Jeunet’s style, it is funny, touching, innocent and sad.
Amelie’s father is a doctor and a closed off man and does not give much affection. When he gives young Amelie monthly check ups, this is the only time she gets to feel her father’s touch so her heart races with affection. Her father then believes she has a heart defect. To protect her he forces her to be home schooled. Now she is not able to interact with other children and is left alone with her imagination.
There are clever little anecdotes like this scattered through out every scene and every character has a charming story that draws the viewer into their funny/sad/beautiful/painful interactions. These character’s also interact with each other in Jeunet’s romanticized Paris. He has filled each frame with vidid color and light and brings the city to life. These images are only made more romantic when heard with the beautiful score created by Yann Tiersen. This film has such a lightness to it every moment you are drawn deeper and deeper into a state of bliss.
Jeunet has created a film so romantic and unique I can’t help but change the lens through which I see my own world. It is almost as if I put a filter on over my eyes and am able to see the world through Amelie’s perspective. That is some brilliant storytelling. A piece of art powerful and unique it changes the way you see the world and what a wonderful way to see it.
