Review of Amélie (2001) by Blake P — 02 Feb 2012

Amélie (Tautou) is a sweet but lonely French girl living alone in her apartment who finds joy in what remains to be a boring existence. Her ordinary lifestyle is suddenly changed when she finds a box of toys belonging to a boy who lived in her apartment earlier, which inspires her to find the owner and give them back to him.

After she does, and sees how happy it makes him, Amélie is inspired to do more good deeds for more lonely people, but after finding an album full of pictures found in the garbage, Amélie decides to return this to the owner (Kassovitz) as well, but along the way she's shocked to find that she's falling in love with him-- something she never thought she could do.

"Amélie" has been on my list for movies to see for quite some time, but finally I was lucky enough to catch it on TV. After seeing it, I realized what the hype was all about. Though in the heart of all of it, the film is really a feel-good romantic comedy, it still has a good message-- you need to take risks in life.

It sounds corny, but "Amélie" gives you a sense of both sides-- what it's like to be lonely and not put yourself out there, and what happens if you do try. But even with both the nerdy little message, and the romantic comedy bit, the film is still as funny as heck, even as a French film.

It's done in a quirky manner similar to director Jeunet's earlier masterpiece "Delicatessen": it's as gross and strange as it needs to be, but it has those moments where you're laughing so hard you forget what's happening in the story, and that's what a comedy should do.

What's more, the film has gorgeous cinematography, a memorable score, and sharp acting performances. This is a comedy that stands out among the crowd, and now is definitely one of my favorite movies.

"Amélie" is an excellent movie that even people who generally don't like French films will love to death. Highly recommended.