Amelie

Rating:
Summary: "There's no hell, there's only France"
Review: Frank Zappa had it just about right with that quote, and if you're not laughing you've obviously never been to the REAL France (and stepped in some of the ever-present dog-doo on the sidewalks over there or dealt with some of the bizarrely rude attitudes some of the people there happen to be legendary for), or had blinders on when you did go there, inspired by the FANTASY Paris of charming little virtuoso films like "Amelie." As for the other side of the coin, if you want France described through rose-colored glasses but from a street poet who knew what he was talking about read Henry Miller's fantastic nauseated-by-Americans classic "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare."

But away from Zappa & Miller, and back to fantasy land in "Amelie." Now, in all fairness to the film, it does contain some very intense and hilarious satire in its first half & is obviously the work of a CINEMATIC virtuoso (which does not imply Jeunet is an ARTISTIC virtuoso also, it only means the guy is a complete master of the TECHNICAL possibilities of the medium), but the splitting of the film between satire & irreverence on the one hand & the most cliched of sappy, schmaltzified romances on the other, seriously hurts the film's effectiveness as a possibly DEEPLY SIGNIFICANT piece of ART-ifact. It starts off majestically & ends up as CHARMING-SATIRE-MINUS-A-LOT-OF-FLUFF, unlike "THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE" by the Coen Brothers, which starts off majestically dark & ends an awe-inspiring confirmation of the maxim behind every great 'realist' film: Pascal's famous "Man's greatness is so obvious it can even be deduced from his wretchedness." Now, I mention the Coens' film because it is the only film I've seen this year with CINEMATOGRAPHY (courtesy of Mr. Roger Deakins) matching or maybe even surpassing the INSANELY MAGNIFICENT level of the one in display in shot after shot in "Amelie" by BRUNO DELBONNEL. I was truly knocked out of my seat by the unerring beauty of the angles used & the antique-look-contrasting-with-modern colors within the shots. I also mention the Coens, because Jeunet is making films now that are sort of "Raising-Arizonaish" in their comic-book-imposed-on-reality extravagant, comic style, but will hopefully achieve the maturity of the Coens, in his deeper outlook to turn out something like "The Man Who Wasn't There."

Getting down to more specifics, "Amelie" reminded me of Louis Malle's classic 1960 film "Zazie Dans Le Metro," which also is split down the middle, magnificent for the first half, BORING & cliched in the second. However, Catherine Demongeot (who, bizarrely enough, Nabokov once said would've been the PERFECT LOLITA had he been allowed to pick one young enough to add the proper amount of repulsion to Kubrick's film) in "Zazie" is a 10 year old girl, & much less interesting a character to red-blooded heterosexual hairy-chested men (such as yours truly) than the SUPER-cute, 'BIG SHOED' (above & below), starlet of Jeunet's film: Audrey Tautou. On one level, the film is a love affair between Jeunet's camera & Tautou, in the time honored tradtion of Sternberg/Dietrich, Powell/Kerr, Hitchcock/Hedren, Godard/Karina, De Palma/Nancy Allen, etc., the angles he uses, the way he frames her, the endless close-ups, all of these things are the work of an artist in love with his subject (whether there's a 'love relatonship' in 'real life' is beside the point), and all the audience is thankful for it.

On another level (again reminding me of "Zazie"), the film takes you on quite a TURBOCHARGED, non-cliched 'tour' of picturesque areas of Paris, & is maybe the best advertising the old 'city of Romance' has had for years. It takes the eyes & sensibilities of masters like Jeunet & Delbonnel to get these shots with just the proper amount of irreverence incoroporated (by what they choose to show and omit), & then ruin them by overplaying sappy annoying accordion music for way too long towards the latter, weaker third of the flick.

DEFIITELY RECOMMENDED, but like another technically dazzling, relatively popular (though not a 'smash hit' like this one) French film before it Leconte's "The Girl on the Bridge," a little too short on substance and TRUE ROMANCE (as opposed to the cliched, NON-EXISTENT kind displayed in the film; check out Renoir's "Picnic on the Grass" or Jacques Becker's "Antoine et Antoinette" if you want to see a similarly whimsical, semi-fantasy film nevertheless displaying the EXISTENT KIND OF 'ROMANCE' IN INNER SENSIBILITY if not in actual, same-story realistic possibility) to give the 'HELL OF FRANCE' its proper artistic due, and in consequence become as great (in the all-important artistic realm) as let's say Truffaut's "Shoot the Piano Player." And one more thing before I leave you with your questionable tastes in without a doubt loving fake, 'non-depressing' fantasty films too much: next time you see the film, you should be aware that a sizeable portion of the film is, among other things, a dead-on satire of Hitchcock's overrated classic "Rear Window."

Rating:
Summary: I think I'm in love
Review: You're doing yourself a favor if you go see this movie. It's quite frankly the best movie I've seen in theatres since The Matrix.

I'm not a fan of romantic movies, but if more of them are made like this, I might just become one. Every character in this movie has their own quirk. When you get two or three in a room together the scene is utter madness, but very magical all the same.

This is worth seeing twice, the second time just to look at all the attention to detail that went into the sets. Take notice of all the paintings in the background. There is one painting of a girl holding a dog, and they have matching bulging eyes that I'm looking for a print of now.

Rating:
Summary: The sweetest film
Review: I can't say enough about this film. There's nothing out there right now as fresh and entertaining. I've seen it twice...so far. I think it's better than Delicatessen and City of Lost Children (both by the same director). And where has Audrey Tautou been all my life?

Rating:
Summary: the antidote to 9/11
Review: Stop looking over your shoulder for terrorists long enough to go see this movie! It will refresh your spirit, as well as teach you a few things about how a truly mischievous and creative mind combined with a generous spirit can make changes in people's lives. Sort of the "pay it forward" with French flair and inventiveness. Not to be missed, for anything.

Rating:
Summary: Oh grow up !
Review: I went to see Amelie with high expectations but it didn't deliver. For months, the media had been writing how great the movie was and how much the French had loved it. Well, I respectfully disagree. Having seen this movie on the same weekend as the Italian movie Bread and Tulips which is far far superior (less the hype), I wonder if we can draw conclusions on the French and the Italians' concept of love and womanhood.

The Amelie character is a perverse woman pretending to be a little girl (just look at the poster), the woman in Bread and Tulips is... well, a woman! In fact, the movie Amelie treats all its characters as if they were children, some rude and deserving mild punishment, others shy and needing encouragement, all absolved of responsibility, all pathetic on some level. I find this view of adults alarming.

Rating:
Summary: best movie..deserves more than 5 stars!
Review: This is probably the best movie I have ever seen!!! It has a nice, honest, SWEET tint. This isn't exactly a MUSHY movie, but it does have romance and good comedy in it. I love this movie! The music is excellent as well. =) Everything is just so...sweet!!! Amelie seems a bit quiet in the movie, she wasn't really an outgoing person, but she has somewhat deep emotions. I don't know how to put this into the right words, so I'll just say what comes to mind: this movie is GREAT!!..you should all see it! It's sweet and cute..and a little sad at one point but it gets happier =) I hope there's a soundtrack for this...when it comes out on video I'm getting it!!!! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! you'll like it! ;-)

Rating:
Summary: Tips for english viewers
Review: I have seen thousands of films in my life, and thought nothing could surprise me anymore on a screen. Amelie proved me I was wrong. Instead of writing another "best film ever" comment, I would like to give some indications for non-french speaking viewers, as the translation might have made some lines a bit obscure.
Amelie says to Colignon "Meme les artichauds ont du coeur" (Even artichokes have a heart). In french, "un coeur d'artichaud" (an artichoke heart) is a person that falls very often and easily in love.
Colignon calls Amelie "Amelie-melo" (pronounce "ah-may-LEE-may-low") which sounds like "un meli-melo", a muddle or mix-up.
In the cafe, people discuss about time and weather, as the same word "temps" means both "le temps qui passe" (time that passes) and "le temps qu'il fait" (the weather). So goes Hippolito's theory : they speak about the weather because they are afraid of the passing time.
Collignon says about his mother : "Elle a une memoire d'elephant, un elephant de mer" (literally: she has memory like an elephant, a sea elephant). A "sea elephant" is a sort of walrus, and "mer" (sea) and "mere" (mother) are pronounced the same.
When Amelie is in a theater, she watches "Jules & Jim", a movie by Francois Truffaut. There are many references to Truffaut in the movie : Claire Maurier plays the mother in "the 400 blows" and many scenes refer to "Bed and Board", which itself refers to Hitchcock's "Rear window". I still have to figure which was the movie whith Spencer Tracy driving without watching...
When Amelie watches her projected life on TV, a scene that refers to Woody Allen's "Zelig", the voice over is from Frederic Mitterand, nephew of his uncle, who is famous for commenting weddings or funerals of aristocrats on french TV.
The "likes/dislikes" narration was experimented by Jeunet in a short movie "Foutaise" with Dominique Pinon, that will be included in the collector edition of the DVD. It also refers to "La vie, mode d'emploi" (Life: a user's manual) from Georges Perec, although Jeunet admits he could never finish the book.
Most TV scenes are stock shots. The story about the horse running in the Tour de France is true. Most stories told in the film are true, including the one about collecting discarded pictures.
There are numerous references in the movie, including to other Jeunet films. The scene in the mystery train is almost a copy of a similar scene in Alien : Resurrection where Ripley has an almost tender behaviour with the alien.
Finally, "Amelie" comes from "Emily", as Emily Watson was supposed to play the role, and "Poulain" is both a young untrained horse and a chocolate brand. And this is not a coincidence.

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Holy Jesus
Review: This movie is an excellent example of what a comedy/romance movie should be. It's thoughtful, charming, and emotionally realistic. For once a movie has a refreshing character such as Amelie, who falls in love but never loses her independence for the sake of a hackneyed romance plot. By giving this movie a five-star rating, I mean that this movie is flawless in every way. See this movie by any means necessary.

Rating:
Summary: Run do not walk
Review: A visually exciting, emotionally charged treat for the eyes.
the film expanded and crushed my heart silmultaneously.
Not to be missed!

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly hiliarious and enjoyable
Review: Amelie is 23. She left home and became a waitress at 2 Moulins in Paris. Her mother died in an unusual death and her father was mourning for his wife for life. She has not thought about what she wants to do until the death of Lady Di, also in Paris. Now she is trying to change the life of others, but the fact is that who would be helping her to change her life? Amelie is a very hilarious movie on dealing with all the minute and seemingly trivial problems of life, but in fact all these affect our choice for our life in many occasions. The director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, The city of lost children) managed to put all the troubles of life in a minor and light-hearted manner. How we could push ourselves across the seemingly barrier of life depends on what kind of attitude we have. We may have the guts to do so, but just think that we can?t do it and give up. The filming method is very creative and the way Jeunet portray psychological changes through the use of special effects is very outstanding. You would wonder how the director could capture the essence in just a perfect touch of cinematography. Amelie would certainly float you in the air, and it is a definite choice away from mainly stream heavy loading Hollywood stuff.