Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain

As part of my plan to spend money I don’t have I bought the movie Amelie on DVD a few days ago. I was able to watch the movie tonight. My first thought was, “How is it that the same man who directed Amelie, also brought us Alien Resurrection?” Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet crafted a wonderfully made film in Amelie. A well written and superbly acted piece of cinema, it’s a movie that develops a quirky personality to it, much like the title character herself. I thought Audrey Tautou was amazing playing Amelie, an introverted but imaginative young woman. The movie details her attempt to bring happiness to others while facing her own pursuit of love. And don’t get me started about Amelie’s haircut. I loved that little bob cut she had. Cute as a button she was!

Another thing Jeunet managed to pull off was to showcase Paris as city that I would actually want to return to. In all the movies I’ve seen before that had scenes in Paris, none of them really made me want to go there again. Jeunet’s Paris in Amelie had a small town feel to it. There was almost a warmth or comfort to it, which is surprising since we’re talking about French people here. Heh heh.

Overall, Amelie was an inspiring movie with a fascinating main character. With so many mainstream choices on the rental shelf today, it makes Amelie a clear winner.