Amelie is a beautiful film. Visually it is absolutely stunning, with some marvelous sequences that delight the eye; the story is wonderful, quite well balanced although (only very) occasionally becoming saccharine.
The first third introduces you to Amelie as a child and her family. This is superbly done, at a frenetic pace with delicious jaunty humour and is truly inspiring to watch. Particularly good is the development of the characters; many have endearing quirks which are wonderfully explained in a comical quasi-documentary style. 'Amelie' is perfect in every way up to and including Amelie's first good deed, a moment which is truly wonderful to experience and as life affirming as anything I've seen since The Straight Story.
After this, the movie is a little less inspiring, detailing the peripheral people in Amelie's town and their lives. Were it not for the momentum lost in this section, this would undoubtedly be a 10/10 picture. Some of the repeated jokes (gnomes, confusing grocers) begin to lose their edge. The feel of the film here becomes more reminiscent of 'Delicatessen', also directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
However, the final third picks up on shy Amelie's quest for love and regains some of the vigour previously lost. Audrey Tautou is brilliant in the title role, and it's good to see Matthieu Kassovitz (writer and director of La Haine) in the wonderful role of Nino. All credit, it's a lot harder too make a good 'feelgood' film than a cynical one, and Jeunet has succeeded with aplomb here.
9/10.
The first third introduces you to Amelie as a child and her family. This is superbly done, at a frenetic pace with delicious jaunty humour and is truly inspiring to watch. Particularly good is the development of the characters; many have endearing quirks which are wonderfully explained in a comical quasi-documentary style. 'Amelie' is perfect in every way up to and including Amelie's first good deed, a moment which is truly wonderful to experience and as life affirming as anything I've seen since The Straight Story.
After this, the movie is a little less inspiring, detailing the peripheral people in Amelie's town and their lives. Were it not for the momentum lost in this section, this would undoubtedly be a 10/10 picture. Some of the repeated jokes (gnomes, confusing grocers) begin to lose their edge. The feel of the film here becomes more reminiscent of 'Delicatessen', also directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
However, the final third picks up on shy Amelie's quest for love and regains some of the vigour previously lost. Audrey Tautou is brilliant in the title role, and it's good to see Matthieu Kassovitz (writer and director of La Haine) in the wonderful role of Nino. All credit, it's a lot harder too make a good 'feelgood' film than a cynical one, and Jeunet has succeeded with aplomb here.
9/10.