Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain

After much deliberation I have finally decided to write my first review. I’m always cautious about reviewing because I’m a very biased reviewer, as in I only like reviewing the things I like. Also, I don’t like reviewing the things I don’t like because someone has worked very hard to make a film or write a book and I feel guilty making flippant remarks about someone else’s hard work (unless it’s Dan Brown, of course. I mean, his name is DAN, why would people even consider reading something written by a man whose parents weren’t imaginative enough to give him a name that is no longer than three letters?)

But as usual I digress, the subject of this review is going to be the movie Amélie or Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, as it is called in French. Don’t worry, there are not going to be any spoilers in this post, just some silly gushing that might give some of you an insight into female sentimentality. The movie is made in such a way that you either dislike it because you think that it is plot-less and well, a waste of time or you love it. I, unlike my unsentimental father, fall into this latter category.

I’m not sure what is it about this movie that makes it so different from all the other movies that I’ve ever seen; maybe it is the way in which the movie is filmed, maybe it is the soundtrack of the movie or maybe it is Amélie herself that I can identify with because she reminds me so much of myself. The first thing I wanted to do when I finished watching the movie the first time was re-start and watch it all over again

I’m not very sure how one could possibly label Amélie into a particular genre. I’m not sure whether it would be appropriate to call it a comedy. It doesn’t make you laugh out loud, just subtly smile and maybe even have a good cry. This tale of an innocent, lonely, naïve girl living in Paris charms everyone’s hearts. At the end of the movie, you can’t help but fall completely in love with this delightful character.

The movie has a brilliant cast. Audrey Tautou as Amélie is wonderful and I cant think of any other actress who could have played a convincing Amélie. The only danger for roles like these is that it might make an actor typecast for a certain set of roles. Also, just after seeing Amélie, I also watched Un Long Dimanche de Fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) which is also directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet and stars Audrey Tautou in a very Amélie-like character. Even though that movie was great, I was kind of let down because of Tautou’s stereotypical character. Of course, I then watched The Da Vinci Code, which TPF has written about in a fabulous review that describes all my sentiments for that movie. Mathieu Kassovitz, on the other hand, is absolutely adorable. I am completely in love with him. I remember squealing and gripping TPF’s hand hard in the cinema hall when I realized that he was in Munich.

The movie has a wonderful soundtrack by Yann Tiersen. I’ve never loved the whole soundtrack of a particular movie before. But every track in Amélie is heart warming and it is impossible for a person to be indifferent the music in this movie because music plays such a pivotal role in this film. You just have to feel something when you listen to it, and I’m not saying this because I’m an angsting alternative-music listening teenager, but because I really do mean it.

Another strange thing is that though I’ve seen Amélie several times now, I’ve always seen it in Italian. Since Italian is not my first language, I don’t focus much on a movie when I’m watching it in Italian, but end up just keep trying to figure out the plot. It is rather rare for me to actually feel any emotion to what is happening on screen because I’m so caught up in the plot. Also, since it was a French movie translated into Italian rather than an English movie translated into Italian, it was much harder for me to understand it, at least the first time I watched it. I wonder how the English translation is. I am rather curious. I shall watch it in English eventually if I manage to find someone who owns the DVD in English.

Having said all this I have to admit that this is not a movie for plot oriented people, but for people who like focusing on the cinematography and the actual filming of movies. It is also meant for sentimental teenage girls who are looking for the smallest possible excuse to shed copious tears.

As a side note, I have a humongous Amélie poster in my room bought by TPF from Istanbul.