Rating: 
Summary: An irresistible smile of a film
Review: 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:
Summary: Make that 121!
Review: According to the American trailers for Amelie, 120 reviewers called this one of the best movies of the year. Well, make that 121. Amelie goes beyond the whimsical into the absolutely fantastic. With humor and poignancy, the story unfolds. Amelie is the lonely child of a distant father and neurotic mother. As she stands childlike in the midst of a young adulthood, she observes human tragedy from the window of her apartment. Upon finding a box of children's treasures in the dark space behind the wall of her bathroom, she begins to try to find the person who would have put it there. This is the beginning of her emergence as a would-be fairy godmother, and her deeds become the portal by which she may be able to join with the rest of the human race as one of them. The film is magnificently beautiful, and the casting perfect. Tautou combines the self-knowledge of an introspective young woman with the disingenuousness of an imaginative loner to create an unforgettably charming character. The DVD is rich with extra features. What I found particularly compelling was Tautou's audition clip, as the actress seemed so much more contemporary and earthy than the character, but then was able to slip on a coat of whimsy even at that early stage. Also noteworthy is the interview with director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who says that he aims to make stories about the extraordinary rather than the ordinary (think City of Lost Children). All in all, this is an excellent film and a great purchase...something I think I'll be watching over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: A priority
Review: In addition of the last review, I'd to say that Amelie is so mischievous and so charming. This movie is really to be watched without delay.
Rating:
Summary: Jeunet does it again!!
Review: Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a wonderful child-like view of the world and it's eccentricities. I have seen and loved his previous movies, 'Delicatessen' and 'The City of Lost Children', and always come away with a smile on my face and a twinkle in my eye, like I've shared a playground secret or seen a magician perform a magnificent trick just for my own pleasure. Amelie, like the other two films, faultlessly shows off Jeunet's talent as a director. Amelie is a young woman, who as a child, was brought up in 'unconventional' settings. One evening, she makes a discovery (a child's 'treasure-chest' filled with trinkets, marbles and string) and embarks on a mission to see if human kindness will actually touch a heart. Along the way, she meets several of Paris' most eccentric residents and touches all of them in one way or another with her actions. Amelie provides a hope and optimism that seems to be forgotten in the disposable and nihilistic culture that we perceive - an example of how a small act of genorosity and kindness can change someone's outlook on life, and reaps its rewards. While some of the scenes are almost too sweet, and some of the visions too childlike, Amelie also contains some surprisingly clever and enchanting 'mini-stories' that contribute much to the overall storyline, and overall remind you that no matter how old and matured you get, there is still an innocent quality inside you that can still have fun with a sack of beans or bubble-wrap.
Rating: 
Summary: Too self-consciously cute for words
Review: This movie exudes the sort of Gallic charm that only the French can produce. It would work better if it weren't so long and if the endless concoction of self-conscious contrivances were not so tedious. Undeniably this movie has its moments, primarily thanks to Audrey Tatou, but in the end it's just tiresome.
Rating:
Summary: Love this movie.
Review: Five stars because: the piano music is excellent. The part where Amelie rides her motorbike at the end is cool. The guy who works at the fruit stand is funny, especially when he talks to the glass man about his boss. A woman jumps off a church and lands on Amelie's mother. Amelie has a fish whose name is Blubber. And one more reason: Nino. This guy is oblivious, just like Amelie, which makes him cool.
Rating:
Summary: best movie ever
Review: this is the best movie ever. just get it and fall in love with it.
Rating:
Summary: Cheers you up even when you're already in a good mood.
Review: I've seen "Amelie" six times in the theater and countless times on DVD. Each time I've watched it, I've introduced it to a different friend, usually someone who doesn't watch foreign films. "Amelie" works its spell every time, simply because it's about deciding to do good things for other people, finding a soulmate yet having chance bring you together and finding delight in life's smaller moments. Beautifully filmed on location in Montmarte, France, the director Jean Pierre Jeunet began planning it while working in America on "Alien Resurrection," compiling a list of all the things he loved about his area, all the things he'd ever wanted to film, and he built the story around those images. (Thus, we get the bits about the glasses dancing, the nuns working on their backhand.) He uses his gift for visual effects and his love of Paris to create this film, which is as charming as every review has said. Audrey Tautou is instantly lovable. She's, at times, childish yet scheming. The schemes she devises are hysterical, and the film's underlying themes of kindness and hope resonate.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful cinema.
Review: What a wonderful departure from the predictable storylines which dominate the cinema. The witty, humorous but also touching story will keep your attention for the length of the film.
Rating:
Summary: magical moviemaking
Review: There are not enough good things to say about this movie. "Amelie" is a fairy tale that never gets boring and always succeeds in making me smile. I bought the DVD on a complete whim without knowing anything about the story, and I am so glad that I did. It's a movie set in reality, in Paris, but it is made to look magical with a rich and oftentimes surreal undercurrent. The cinematography is unlike anything I've seen for a romantic movie; the rich reds, greens and occasional blues paint such a vivid and vibrant picture that fits the whole atmosphere perfectly. More than just the elements of the movie though, there are the two main characters of Amelie and Nino, whose connection is quite tangible even though they rarely share the screen at all. This is a movie that makes me happy, that makes me think that good does exist and that anything is possible. I could watch "Amelie" over and over again; it's one of the few movies that never gets old and leaves me feeling good.
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