Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen)Cast: Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code), Mathieu Kassovitz (Munich), Rufus, Serge Merlin, Claire Maurier, Clotilde Mollet, Urbain Cancelier
The Deal: Due to a misdiagnosed heart condition, Amelie (Tautou) had very little human contact as a child, passing her time daydreaming and entertaining herself. She moves to the city to work as a waitress at a cafe, and one night she discovers a hidden box containing the childhood treasures of one of her apartment's previous residents. She sets out to return the treasure, and if the person was truly grateful to have it returned, she would devote her life to making the lives of the people around her better. Through her righteous escapades, she slowly discovers she's neglecting her own happiness and one shot at true love.
Thoughts: I was really impressed with the acting, especially that of Audrey Tautou. She did a wonderful job bringing Amelie to life to the point where the viewer finds themselves falling for her only to remember it's just a film. There were so many different layers to her character, from lovable and quirky, helpful and concerned, lost and confused, and Tautou really blended them all together nicely. The rest of the cast is not without their due praise, as almost every character was well performed. You really can't imagine anyone else in their respective roles.
The story itself was very strong and engaging. The characters bare their emotions on their sleeves, and you always keep wondering what's coming next. Dufayel (Merlin), an artist with "glass bone" syndrome, was very intriguing. I liked that in all of Amelie's attempts to help him, he then flips the roles, a scene I found very touching. The story line following the grocer Collignon (Cancelier) was noteworthy for it's great humor.
I particularly enjoyed the game of cat and mouse between Amelie and Nino (Kassovitz). It was so exciting watching her leave all the clues for him to follow the retrieve his lost photo album, only to lead into another game as they both became romantically interested in each other, yet struggled with their human contact issues of their respective childhoods. It was all executed well, maintaining the same level of cleverness with each exchange.
Verdict: An all around feel-good and charming film, one of the best foreign films I've seen. Hopefully you don't have any issues with subtitles, because this one is well worth seeing. ☆☆☆☆
No comments:
Post a Comment