Amelie (2001) - Movie Review
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The French-language film is about a young woman who discovers how great it is by helping other people, and she sets out to change many people's lives by doing small things to "urge" them in certain directions. Of course, in the process, she realizes that at some point she might have to help herself, and finally confront the man of her dreams.
Amelie is a very quirky drama comedy that has a very interesting and unique style about it. The first fifteen minutes are some of the best in the film, as they cover the background of many of the characters. By the time the introduction was over, I knew that I was in store for a great movie.
The movie pulls you into Amelie's world, which is really not just hers but many overlapping characters, all with their own problems. Partially from the viewpoint of Amelie, and partially from that of the narrator, the movie is able to create fully three dimensional characters with just a few lines of dialogue, or even just a facial expression.
Honestly, the least interesting part of the entire movie is Amelie's relationship with the man that she's never actually spoken with (which is considered the central part of the movie), but that is only because all of the other little stories are so good. Her attempts to start a relationship are fun to watch, but compared to her mingling in one of her coworker's relationship, and especially to the travels of her father's lawn gnome (yes, you heard me right), it just is a step behind.
Nevertheless, there is really nothing to complain about. Amelie draws you in with ease, presenting a blend of so many storylines that work so well together. The acting is great, the direction is even better, and the script is fabulous. Amelie is 2001's Life is Beautiful, only better.
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Anonymous says:
January 21, 2004I went to blockbuster looking for a video I could watch when I had to escape the family circus and holiday gloom. Knowing it was going to be noisy with all the candy crazed cousins running around, I looked in the foreign film section for one that was in subtitles. I wanted to find one that would also be able to make me smile when it was over and I was back in reality. After a while I found Amelie. Or maybe that's she found me. This movie ended up costing me quite a bit in late fees, but I wasn't gonna return it until I had my own copy. It's that good. It's also quite a bit complex ( in a simple way ) so I'm not gonna describe it to you much. It's about a girl in Paris that by chance finds something of a persons childhood and long forgotten. When she returns the box of memories to it's aged owner, she watches his reaction from a distance. Of course his reaction would be the turning point in the movie. He's stunned, but obviously touched. She tastes the feeling of doing good for others and decides to become a " regular do-gooder ". And as she does for others with success ( and maybe you too ) it comes to the question of whether she can do unto herself. This movie will make you smile, unless you hate people who tend to be cute and smile. It might bore you a bit if you can't read the subtitles and don't know French ( like my friend that didn't have his glasses with him ). But otherwise I think everyone should at least like this movie, if not love it to death. She must have a lot of hearts hidden somewhere by now.