Amelie

Rating:
Summary: wondrous!
Review: this movie is a pure spirit-lifter - I would highly recommend to anyone (tho guys'll probably say it's a "chick flick") - even with subtitles (which I didn't know it had), the movie flowed effortlessly. By the end I didn't even realize I was reading the subtitles - it came naturally. Everything about this film is amazing from where it's filmed, the color, the feelings, the storylines, the interwoven themes. Great for when yer down in the dumps to restore hope!

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Movie
Review: A wonderful tale beautifully filmed. Very imaginative. It's a feel-good, romantic comedy that I'll definitely watch again.

Rating:
Summary: Possibly my favorite movie
Review: An absolutely super film, slightly abstract and surealistic.

Rating:
Summary: Insanely enjoyable
Review: Fun, brisk, and hugely enjoyable eye candy, "Amélie" is a breath of fresh air. The movie's heroine draws you into her world almost instantly, and being there proves a delightful experience you won't soon forget (though the halcyon city in which Jeunet's modern fairy tale takes place is likely quite different from real-life Paris). Not unlike your standard Hollywood love story, the romance in "Amélie" develops without conflict save for the occasional bump in an otherwise hospitable road. What sets this great film apart is that its characters are so quirky and likeable that the ease with which they find happiness elicits not a roll of the eyes but a smile.

Rating:
Summary: I didn't expect...
Review: ...to like this movie, but I was very pleasantly provoked by this feel-good movie. I might have created an unwarrented idea that this would be a "chick flick" in my head.

As a 19-year-old male, I am skeptical of any movie that would be put in the romance category. This is not a romance in my book. If it is, I chose not to appreaciate it for the romantic characteristics but the intelligent subplots. I am glad to say that I found myself laughing out loud during moments of the movie. A task which is usually only drawn by slapstick comedy and lude jokes.

Rating:
Summary: Pure French Charm
Review: With its opening sequence of kalidescopic visuals and rapid-fire narration, viewers who do not speak French (myself included) are likely to find Jean-Pierre Jeunet's celebrated AMELIE a challenge, for it is rather difficult to watch the film and read the subtitles at the same time. That said, once you are able to sycronize these elements in your head, you are in for a treat: AMELIE is simply one of the most charming films to emerge from France in many, many years.

Considering that the film is both foreign and subtitled, and therefore presumably has a somewhat limited appeal for English-only audiences, it's story has become remarkably well-known in a very short time among English-only audiences--a fact that attests to its power. Amelie is a shy, somewhat reclusive young woman, the product of an emotionally distant father and profoundly neurotic mother, who hides from life as a waitress in a small cafe while cultivating "small pleasures"--skipping stones over water, dipping her hands into sacks of grain at the local market to feel the texture, and the like. One day she discovers a box hidden behind the wall of her apartment bathroom, a tiny box filled with childhood toys stashed away by a long-ago childhood tenent. She sets out to return them to the now-adult man who hid and forgot them so many years before... and when she sees his pleasure she finds a purpose in life: she will secretly do things to make others happier in their life, thereby vicariously living out the happiness she herself is afraid to accept. In the process she not only brings life-changing joy to those around her, but she discovers her own need for happiness and the courage to change that she might experience happiness for herself.

The story is actually quite slight, but director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, his star Audrey Tautou, and a remarkable cast of supporting players give it tremendous style and an unexpectedly self-mocking sense of humor. The film is full of visual metaphors: at various moments we see the hearts of different characters beating inside their bodies, Amelie fantasizes about hearing herself lectured by the television, the object of her affection is teased by talking photographs, and in one particularly memorable scene Amelie's disappointment is envisioned by morphing her body into a column of water that collapses with a splash to the ground. The characters are mix of archetypes and glitchy eccentricity; the cinematography is shockingly beautiful; and everything about the film is gentle, sweetly funny, and sure to leave you with a Gallic smile and a wish that life were actually like that.

Tautou is a remarkable young actress who has been widely compared to both Audrey Hepburn and Leslie Caron--and indeed there is more than a passing similarity. But she plays the title role with a knowing quality that belongs to her alone, and although the role (and indeed all roles in the film) is essentially archetypical her performance has a youthful grace slightly tempered by unexpected self-awareness: extremely effective and extremely endearing. The film would be worth seeing for this performance alone, but fortunately AMELIE is remarkably rich in all its elements.

Those expecting "depth" may disappointed, for the life-lessons the films offers are not profound in themselves; others may find the film's odd mix of Brechtian distance, sly wit, and warmth a bit off-putting--and it would be easy to read the film as a somewhat diadactic comedy that doesn't entirely come off. But if you can grasp the thought that the film isn't about anything beyond making you chuckle, smile, and rejoice in the small pleasures of life, you will find it extremely, extremely enjoyable. The DVD comes with a second disk full of extras, including audition footage, outtakes, and the like that both cinephiles and Francophiles are sure enjoy. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: a simply wonderful film
Review: This is a charming, quirky film with a dark side that keeps it from being too sweet. Overall, it is uplifting -- not only because of a story line that makes you believe good deeds can lead to good things -- but because it is a simple story that proves good films can still be popular and successful without a lot of hype.

Rating:
Summary: Gorgeous, Entertaining, Brilliant!
Review: One of the more gorgeous cinema experiences of our time, Amelie, will captivate your curiosity and imagination. Sensational Audrey Tautou is Amelie, the charming Miss, who lets her generosity come in the way of her own search for love and happiness. Secretly, Amelie is encouraged by those whose lives have been changed for good, unknown of her influence. You will simply LOVE Amelie, and her happiness will stay with you forever.

Rating:
Summary: Amelie et Moi
Review: Being away in Asia, and far from European civilisation, I had a chance to grab this wonderful memoire of Paris, and found it to be fresh and petillant.

Unlike most non-European films that I've been exposed to in Malaysia, Amelie Poussaint, reflects a typical parisian outlook on life with all its bleakness, innocence of human living that can only happen in Paris. Audrey Tatou the petite surbarbian carries the character well, and in not so many words, brought out one of the best movies I've watched over the past year.

I would recommend this movie to those who have not been to Paris, and those who would like to refresh memories of Paris again in their hearts. This film was made for you. And only you can know and experience the same flesh tingling effect of the movie, when you've lived in Paris. The air, the scent, the cafe, all these are not found elsewhere even in franchise cafes and makeover bistrots in Asia, or the US.

Rating:
Summary: Audrey Tautou, superstar!
Review: I rareley see a movie more than once. I saw this one in the theatre four times. Amelie is a gloriously innovative introverted character (and gorgeous) and the movie is so quirky and stylin'...obviously a lot of work went into making a movie so clever and light and uplifting.