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Review/Critique: Amélie

Amélie

Jean-Pierre Jeunet





Expectations: I honestly did not have many expectations going into this film. I knew "Amélie" was a pretty popular European film, I knew it was a love story, and I knew it was French. That's about it. I think this is often the best way to go into a movie, knowing very little, and I would say that my lack of knowledge likely aided my enjoyment of this film, although it's impossible to say since I can never watch this film for the first time again. Since it would be rather ironic if I did not follow up by saying "turn back now to stay unspoiled and experience the movie with no prior knowledge" I will tell you to do so. If all you wanted was a rating you can see above that I did like the movie, and I think you probably will too (especially if you like films by a Mister Wes Anderson as it feels very similar in tone and style to his newer films). If you are going to disregard my warning as would not surprise me, then read ahead for a more detailed explanation to what I thought about "Amélie".

Review: Much to my surprise, "Amélie" was in no way a traditional love story. My surprised was not due to me being told otherwise, rather that I had a preconceived assumption that a rather farmous love story that takes place in Paris, France would be incredibly typically romantic. "Amélie" is not though, in fact it's very much the opposite.

         The film revolves around our titular protagonist and her incredibly whimsical not so traditional family upbringing. This upbringing leads her to being completely inept in forming romantic relationships with other human beings. The entire film revolves around this idea, and her coming into her own in learning how to express affection towards other human beings. This is not just romantic affection, in fact until later in the film it was easy to forget that this movie was a love story at all. Don't get me wrong, love is a major theme of this movie, it just doesn't slap you in the face with it. It's subtle, and the movie spends a long time exploring Amélie and the lives of the individuals around her so as to put you in the perfect frame of reference for when the movie can remind you that it's a love story. It's very non-traditional, something that makes it very memorable in sea of very samey romantic comedies, and leads it to being one of my favorite romantic comedies I have watched. The non-traditional nature of the film is not just in story, but in presentation as well.

        Watching this film all I could think of is how similar it is in tone and direction to many Wes Anderson films. The narration of the events taking place, the camera shots, the overall "quirky atmosphere" it all alluded to films I've seen before... but they are films that came out much later than this one. In addition I never felt as if "Amélie" movie was applauding itself the entire time for how "unique" or "quirky" it is. I like Wes Anderson films alright, don't get me wrong, but often times I just want to roll my eyes when he spends a solid chunk of his movie reminding us "hey look at how quirky my movies are!" I never felt this way about "Amélie", so this one is an easy recommend. If you like Wes Anderson movies then this is right up your alley, and if you don't then "Amélie" is the perfect choice to reaffirm your opinion that they are all self applaudatory garbage, I mean very good in their own right.

Recommendation: It's very easy when hearing me say this movie appeals to two types of people, those who like Wes Anderson films, and those who don't, to believe I recommend "Amélie" to everyone and while you're not wrong, I definitely don't think everyone would like this movie. If you would describe yourself as the type of person who "hates pretentious movies" I would probably stay away from this one. Do I think the movie is pretentious? No, but I don't think anyone I've met who claims to hate pretentious things would like this movie. If you like romantic comedies, you're trying to pick out a good date night movie, or you just want to watch an incredibly famous European film, definitely give "Amélie" a watch.

...

And those are my thoughts on "Amélie"! Took longer than planned, but what doesn't in life.

Until Next Time!

- Malachi

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