AMELIE (****)
In these past two weeks, I have been truly blessed to see three worthwhile films. I saw a truthful drama in MONSTER'S BALL, an incredible and intelligent thrill ride in MINORITY REPORT, and now a light-hearted and meaningful modern day fairy tale in AMELIE. The film won a record 8 Cesar Awards (the Oscar equivalent in France), was nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Foreign Film, and has won a slew of international awards along with the hearts of fans worldwide. After seeing it today, you can count me as one of them.
The movie opens with Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou), a young girl with eccentric but loving parents. She longs for physical contact (hugs) from her physician father Raphael (Rufus). He only gets to do so when he gives her physical checkups, but the rarity of his touches makes her so anxious that her heart races, making her father believe that she is sickly. Her mother dies from a freak suicide attempt from the Notre Dame cathedral (believe it or not, not her own). These moments cause Amelie to become a sort of recluse with odd interests but good intentions.
One day, Princess Diana's death marks a major turning point in her life in ways far from what we might expect. She unearths an old personal treasure, returns it to its rightful owner, and in doing so, discovers her calling... to better the lives of the people around her. The film shows her life as she helps the people she cares for in some of the most humorous, unconventional, and charming ways. Along the way, she finds her true love, and helps herself climb out of her emotional seclusion.
I greatly enjoyed the way Amelie strategizes ways to enrich people's lives. Most of them are quite comical, such as the way she sabotages her grocer's living quarters after he belittles his slow assistant, or her matchmaking schemes between a jealous man and a hypochondriac. But some of them are quite loving, such as her fabrication of a love letter to her concierge who wonders if her dead husband really loved her, her videos about the wonder of life to an artist who has sealed himself from the world, and her descriptions of her market surroundings to a blind man. After seeing so many films that try to develop ways to make us laugh, this film does much more than that... it tries to make us care for those we laugh at.
Many people associate special effects with big blockbusters such as scifi flicks and action-adventures. Amelie has quite a share of its own, but like many good films, it knows that is better to use them for the story, not as the basis for it. They are quite obvious, but they do not distract you from the film's ongoing events. They accentuate the plot, elevating it to a memorable level, without attracting too much attention (MINORITY REPORT's effects aren't the center of the movie, but they definitely are eye-popping). This movie knows when and how to use them, like in moments where the Amelie's paintings care for her well-being, or when she literally disolves into a puddle after seeing the man she loves. One sequence I especially found brilliant was where 4 photographs of the same man (Ticky Holgado), each having separate consciousnesses, speak to Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz who directed THE CRIMSON RIVERS), Amelie's love interest. Is it a dream? A hallucination? Who cares? It fits with the film, and has a amazing effect.
The film's setting is remarkably beautiful (with warm scenes from the Sacre Coure). Many French film critics faulted the movie's overly romantic view of Paris, without problems, unemployment, or even minorities. But what else do people think of this great city, other than being the most picturesque and quixotic metropolis in the world? It even makes a porn shop look like a decent place to work in, and a haunted house carnival attraction seem more eerie than it should be. The cinematography is exquisite (deservedly nominated for an Oscar), filled with rich colors with a rather sepia tone. The art and set decoration is dreamy, with camera movements that will leave you scratching your head (like an overhead shot which shifts onto a pond when Amelie throws skipping stones). This is definitely a picture made with a skilled eye and a strong French feel.
Like MOULIN ROUGE, AMELIE has memorable characters, each leaving strong impressions. We may not remember their names (aside from the two lovebirds), but their characters are so richly defined, that their identities are easily embedded into our minds once we leave the theatre. But the one truly unforgettable performance is given by Audrey Tautou. She has the most charming guileless yet mischievous face I have seen since another Audrey, Audrey Hepburn (BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S). Roger Ebert describes her look perfectly: "a fresh faced waif who looks like she knows a secret and can't keep it..." She is entirely likeable and incredibly charismatic that the moment you see her, you care for her right away, and become delighted once she gets what she has dreamed of. This is a role of a lifetime, and she delivers so memorably, that she might not be remembered for anything else.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a noted French film director known as a visual virtuoso. He directed two of the most strangely fascinating fantasy movies in DELICATESSEN and THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN. But both of these had strong disturbing qualities (the first movie mentioned above is probably the most stylish film about cannibalism you'll ever see). He also directed ALIEN: RESSURECTION, another dark piece of eye-candy. It's a good thing that he finally lightens up for this one. It's an obvious departure from his sinister side.
AMELIE is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously, yet as it plays, it develops a suprising poignancy. It is filled with oodles of fantasy fits. Think of it as ALLY MCBEAL with lesser malice and greater integrity. It is confident but not smug. It takes an odd view but is not weird. It has moments of limbo, but those moments have important information for subsequent scenes. It solves its problems with ingenuity and fun. But most of all, it has heart. For those who think French films are too "artsy", too experimental, or too sophisticated, here's one that is simple and above all, whimsical... in every sense of the word. It is a French feast for the eyes and the soul. It has the ambition, creativity, and flair of MOULIN ROUGE, with the ease and heart of BABE. What a wonderful movie.
Posted by FLIPCRITIC at June 30, 2002 12:00 AM