Amélie (2001)
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Country: France
Genre: Foreign, Romance, Comedy
I think my memorable experience with a subtitled film was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), which would make this my second, (what can I say, I was a late bloomer to foreign films.) And so, knowing there wasn’t any martial arts in this film, I went into it a bit blasé (if you don’t mind me sticking to the French theme.) My girlfriend had seen it in one of her French classes and loved it so much that she made us rent it and watch it. When it was over, I was surprised to find that it wasn’t a long and drawn out French film that I had seen made fun of on SNL or Seinfeld so many times.
It was like watching a Wes Anderson film, only with a director who had A.D.D. And despite it’s 2+ hour runtime, it was neither long or drawn out. In fact, the vignette-style editing and the over-the-top humor made it breeze by. But really, what the whole movie’s appeal boils down to is how effing adorable Audrey Tautou is as her finely-tuned character of Amélie. I think before Natalie Portman’s portrayal of Sam in Garden State (2004), any girl who saw Amélie wanted to be her, making them embrace their quirky side and get lost in the fantasies of setting up little mundane adventures.
This film here is a perfect example of a romantic comedy being both romantic and funny, I know, shocking, right? But it is able to be both without ever sacrificing one for the other like so many “rom-coms” do. Jean-Pierre Jeunet has a brilliant eye for art direction and unforgettable characters, which when you add up all of the elements of this film, its sum is something quite unique and amazing. Who wouldn’t want an Amélie for their own?
100%
Tags: Comedy, Foreign, Romance
2001 Films | this guy over here
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