Amelie

Rating:
Summary: A great DVD for a Great Movie
Review: Last Year's Amelie is plainly put one of the best films ever made. The whimisical blend of picturesque colors vigorating music, vibrant characters, and a beautiful plot. Audre Tutow plays the whimsical Amelie who goes on a personal oddesy following the death of Princess Diana and an encounter which effects everyone. The movie is beatifully filmed with several insightful and amusing.

The DVD has several great special features ranginf from outtakes from the cast, The screen tests, interviews and commentary by writer/director Jean-Pierre-Jennet as well as great segments on the Art of Amelie and Theatrical Trailers.

This is the perfect gift to any fan of french cinema or for anyone who likes movies

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful Delight
Review: I have not seen a movie that just makes you feel so good after watching, but this is one of them. Amelie is a pure delight of the soul as one girl trys to help everyone with there problem but herself. The comedy is rich and full of life. from the suicidle goldfish, to a traveling gnome. This is the one movie you come away with a smile and fall in love with Amelie.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: The package says "The feel-good movie of the year," and when I heard the basic plot, how Amelie discovers helping other people, I was expecting a pleasant but serious movie, the touchy-feely kind. "Aw, isn't that special." So I was only mildly interested in it before watching.

But it really caught me by surprise. First of all, I was surprised by how funny it was. I wasn't expecting it to be funny, but many lines made me bust out laughing. Second, I was entranced with the beautiful world of the movie, a lovely type of fantasy. I loved the way Amelie and the "glass bones man" talked about a girl in the painting he was working on when they both knew they were really talking about Amelie. I loved the magic of the streets of Paris, the deeply interesting variety of characters in the movie, and particularly shy Amelie's charming mannerisms. Adding to movie is the music which so perfectly fits, solidly contributing to the movie's good feeling, and also the unusual cinematic effects, including the way inanimate objects sometimes briefly came to life.

Often after watching a movie on DVD, I like to watch some of the extra material--deleted scenes, movie trailers, etc. But after watching this movie, I couldn't even imagine destroying the beauty of the fantasy with such stuff.

So I watched the extras on a different day. My favorites in the extras: 1) When the director and cinematographer discuss the use of color; it was enlightening and helped me realize one of the reasons I liked the movie so much. Their use of color was not something I had noticed consciously while watching the film, but after hearing them discuss their use of color, I understood a part of what made this movie so appealing to me (I love color!). 2) It's called "Fantasies of Audrey Tautou" but really it's outtakes. But what's amazing is how charming she is even when she's veering off the script. 3) It was interesting to see the original storyboard directly compared with the final result in one scene.

Normally I don't watch the interviews with the directors, but I did with this one and found it to be interesting enough. But I'm not a hard core movie buff; I basically just watch movies and that's it. I generally don't even know the actors' names (except for really big ones), let alone the directors.

For me, the extras are fine as far as DVD extras go, but this movie is such a delightful charming fantasy, the extras take away from that magic. I'll leave those for the hardcore movie buffs and just watch the lovely story again and again.

(By the way, I couldn't decide whether to rate it 4 stars or 5; when in doubt I go the conservative route. It's at least a 4 1/2, but I don't round up.)

Rating:
Summary: I loved it
Review: Although this movie is not in english, the english subtitles are easy to read so you can fully enjoy the story without being to distracting. The story line is so charming. It has a great plot twist. If it was in english I would have given it 5 stars. Its the best foreign film story I have ever seen.

Rating:
Summary: A Fine French Film
Review: The title character of Amelie is so adorable, you can't help but love her. She is a young woman who takes so much pleasure in helping other people find happiness, she forgets to find a little for herself. Whether she's trying to fix up a co-worker with a regular customer, or defending a shy young man at the grocery store who is picked on by his boss, Amelie is the ultimate do-gooder. She is so cute and sweet, you kind of wish she was YOUR friend. This is a wonderful French film (by far, the best I have ever seen) that will charm the heck out of you. This film had me from the very beginning, when it was showing Amelie as a little girl (wreaking havoc with the neighbor's television reception), right up until the very end where she lived happily ever after. And yes, it is quirky - but not bad quirky. For instance, the scenes where Amelie's father keeps receiving pictures in the mail of his missing garden gnome in various countries, yes it's a little odd - but hilarious. If you're looking for a light, fun film, this is it. Nevermind the subtitles, you may not even need them - you'll be so fixed on the beautiful scenery, and on Audrey Tautou that you may even forget to pay attention to the dialogue. That is the power of this film. Just sit back, relax, and spend some quality time in Amelie's world. It's a great place.

Rating:
Summary: Cute & quirky
Review: My boyfriend refused to watch the movie he had relegated to the "chick flick genre." But I rented it on my own & then convinced him to watch it anyway & we both loved it. The love story is just a side. I liked the modern style.

Rating:
Summary: Do not waste times reading reviews, just go see the movie
Review: "Amélie" is a film where you want to find the perfect word for describing its charm. There is probably such a word in French, but I would not know what it was. All I know is that quirky, enchanting, and everything I come up with in English is wholy inadequate to the task at hand. The most important thing to know is that "Amélie" is a film where you should go see it because so many people love it, even if it requires you to not to do anything else so you can read the subtitles (some people resist such demands and--shudder--listen to dubbed versions of "Life is Beautiful" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"). I feel about this film the way I did about "Memento," where I told people they should see it and refused to tell them anything else because it would ruin the experience (think the Heisenberg principle). However, I think the audience that would enjoy "Amélie" is considerably wider than those who would cotton to "Memento" (which was a quirky little film).

So, I am giving you my strongest recommendation for you to see "Amélie." Now, if you have not yet seen the film, please go away, because I want to talk to those who have seen the film and while I am not going to be providing what we would traditionally consider "spoilers," you really sure come to view this film as pure and chaste as the driven snow (of which we have lots up here).

I find it interesting that the film's French title "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" was reduced to just "Amélie" for American consumption. Combined with the green framed portrait of actress Audrey Tautou smiling impishly as the title character, this certainly does not give viewers a real idea of what they will discover in this film. One of the chief charms of the film for me was how you had to pay attention to the details because almost everything was a clue as to future developments (the exception that proves the rule would be Blubber, whose return we patiently waited for throughout the entire film).

Jean-Pierre Jeunet establishes the fabulous world of Amélie Poulain in the creative prologue, which establishes what each of our cast of characters likes to do. We then begin 48 hours in which d'Amélie's life is changed. Of course such massive developments hinge on a bottle cap fallen to the floor. Our heroine's efforts to sabotage the life of Collignon (Urbain Cancelier), the Grocer (who will never be confused with an artichoke), struck my funny bone exceedingly hard and her relationship with the Glass Man, Raymond Dufayel (Serge Merlin), was particularly nice, both their discussions about the girl with the wine glass in the Renoir painting and the old man giving her the final push to her destiny. The only question is whether Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), is really good enough for our girl, but if she is smitten with a man who collects torn up and discarded photographs from photo booths around town, who are we to challenge her choice?

The end of the fabulous 48 hours at which point our heroine finds her destiny does not offer a perfect world. Some find true bliss in love, others finally go on trips, but some still right where they started, unpublished, afflicted by imaginary illnesses, or consumed by jealousy. But as long as Amélie lives happily ever after we are content. I pity the person who does not fall in love with this film.

Rating:
Summary: French charm at it's best!
Review: Beautiful, superb cutting and transitions - like when her mirror reflection comes crashing down the floor, transforms into water and spreads out in every direction...Wow!! Overall nice transitions between scenes. Funny and splendid performances by the actors/actresses, another French direct hit. European movies rock! Exceptional and just marvellous;-)
It was almost a year ago since I saw it now, but I still remember it with a smile on my face and I can still burst out laughing when something from the film comes to mind!

Rating:
Summary: tastefully and beautifully done french film
Review: As every other review has said, this is a great movie!
The girl is so delightful and the story line is so different from every other movie I've seen in my life!
You gotta love french movies, they always are trying to be one of a kind; but this one wins all the trophies in my book!
It is definitely a must see, Audrey's (as we say in spanish) 'picardia' is so adorable.
I can't say enough about this movie, I'd give it 6 stars if I could!!
It is definitely one of my all time favorites for sure!

Rating:
Summary: Unique, Different, and Good Movie
Review: This movie is a good movie in its own way. Shows the life of Amelie and how she tries to help others when she should try to fix her own life first. Funny movie but some inappropriate parts about sex and orgasms.