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Amelie

Amelie

List Price: $19.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of my favorite films
Review: When I first started watching Amélie, I, like many ignorant people, was somewhat put off but the idea of having to read my movie. I soon got over that fact and was encaptured by the movie's aesthetic beauty. The characters are all portrayed wonderfully. Audrey Tatou is a perfect match for such a quirky character. Mathieu Kassovitz is handsome and a great love interest. The colors jump off the screen, and the music is enchanting. I even bought the soundtrack (a great buy as well.) I don't have the capability to convey the amount of pleasure this movie gives you, not to mention laughter, love, and hope. This is one of my favorite films ever.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beautiful movie
Review: This movie is the best foreign flick of the year. Granted that some people may mind that it is in french, but if you just get over that fact, you will love it. It's very funny and "cute" and the humour in it is rather simple. I recomend this movie to any movie fan, particulièrement à ceux qui parlent français. Je l'adore.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: As sweat as chocolate
Review: This film is just right, like the warm cup of tea on a cold night, or the first sunny day after weeks of rain. I own the DVD and have seen it several times, and each time it fills me with a kind of wonder. This is the kind of timeless and pure story that made Hollywood great, but that Hollywood doesn't make any more.

Aside from a handful of cynics, I can't imagine anyone who won't enjoy Amelie. But here's a test: if you, like the films main character, can take joy from life's simple pleasures (like the way your hand feels sinking into a sack of dried beans, the way street markets sound and smell, the absurdity of a horse running with the Tour de France), then this is a simple pleasure you don't want to miss.

As far as the quality and value of this film, I can't add much to the hundreds of reviews already posted here except to say "Yes! Yes! Me too!"

An interesting side note: the more I watch the film, the more little cultural references and word plays I catch. I'm sure the film is full of them, and it would take a native French speaker or long-time Paris resident to catch them all (understanding them is not necessary to enjoy the film; they're a bonus).

One I caught on the most recent viewing on TV (my French is sketchy, but seeing it with Italian subtitles rather than the English helped) is a play on words by Hippolito, the failed writer in the cafe, who comments that the cafe's regulars speak about the weather out of fear of the passing time. In French, "temps" means both "time" and "weather."

Similarly, the grocer Collignon tells Amelie to contact his mother to discover the name of her apartment's former tennent. He says, "Elle a une memoire d'elephant, un elephant de mer." That translates to "She has a memory like an elephant, a sea elephant" -- a reference to a manatee or an ocean seal. But the point is the way Collignon stresses "mer" (which means "ocean"), which sounds the same as "mere" (which means "mother").

I also noticed that the voice over used when Amelie imagines the television retrospective of her life is from the same person who does the television commentary for the funerals of France's rich, famous and powerful. I peaked at the credits and found that he is Frederic Mitterrand, the nephew of the late prime minister.

The last might be a stretch, but on my last trip to Paris I noticed a old-time chocolate brand called "Poulain", which is Amelie's family name. Maybe that's just a coincidence, but with a film as sweet as this one, assuming they come from the same source is an easy mistake to make.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Audrey Tautou, Modern Audrey Hepburn or Lucille Ball
Review: Up to a challenge? Watch this movie and try to feel bad about life. AmelieÕs humor comes into lush and stylish flower like a garden. It is a very human story about people of ordinary means and the power of love. It uses devices that made movies like Babe and its sequel so charming, inventive and thoughtfull, tickling the senses with its rich use of color, sound, comedy, sexuality and characterizations. The actors all look like everyday people. Audrey Tautou is fun to watch as Amelie, and I can't help thinking that she is like a mix of Audrey Hepburn and Lucille Ball. I would pair this movie with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Strictly Ballroom, Run Lola Run or Don Juan de Marco.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantasy and reality...
Review: In the beautiful city of Paris, in a beautiful apartment building, in a beautiful, cozy home, lives Amelie Poulain, who enjoys the simple pleasures of life, but longs for something more, desires, in the deepest recesses of her heart, someone to love and to have as her own.
But, instead of helping herself, she begins to help other Parisians around her, whether helping them to relive their entire childhood or just to brighten their step a little, she becomes a sort of guardian angel, working good deeds wherever she goes.
This film is a stunning fantasy romance, a true romance, something we as film viewers have not seen in a very long time. Audrey Tautou glides from scene to scene, as one watches her one can almost imagine her floating on wings. Her performance is virtually flawless, every inch of her character slowly being revealed, her initial facade of perfect happiness, and her deep feelings of longing uncovered by the painter, the man they say is made of glass.
Mathieu Kassovitz, as the quirky adult video store employee, is also wonderful; awkward and curious and just as longing as amelie.
As the film comes to a close, the viewer cannot help but feel a tingling at the edges of his or her mouth, quickly developing into a full grin, a symbol of the true happiness the film portrays.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Yuck!
Review: Contrived mind candy. Reminiscent of "Chocolat", this is another pseudo-art film.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fantastique!
Review: From the opening scene, I knew I would love this movie! The omniscent narrator leads the viewer through the events of Amelie's conception and birth... then takes you into Amelie's childhood and introduces her strange parents. The beauty and humor of the movie last throughout the whole film! Tatou was wonderful in this role!

There were so many little stories weaved into Amelie's life... all her adventures and ways to bring happiness to others, then she finally realizes that she needs a little happiness in her life as well.

Beautiful filmmaking, and such a pleasure to watch!! Best movie I have seen in a long time!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fun!
Review: I loved the look of the film. Nice surprises throughout without being jarring and heavy-handed. The music is wonderful. I bought the DVD and watch it often. With the subtitles off, I can practice hearing French. I recommend this film highly. Also the special features and the little bits about how it was made are very interesting. The interview with the director was enjoyable and sweet.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Un film formidable
Review: "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain" (titre francais) ou "Amelie" est un film respirant la beauté, la jeunesse et la sensibilité. C'est un film pour tous les âges et surtout pour les personnes qui ont leur sensibilité à fleur de peau. Drôle et en même temps très touchant, Amélie est un film a voir absolument! Chacun pourra y trouver son petit plaisir ;-)!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great
Review: This is one of the best movies that I have watched. A classic comedy that portrays everyday life. I don't know of anything better.


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