Film 25 (9/13/2005)

Amelie (2001)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Recommended by: Acapelli05

Has Fentablar seen this before?: No.

Amelie captivated me from the very moment it began and held me through its entirety. This is a fun, heart-warming and beautiful film that has instantly become a top-5 favorite of mine. I have only seen two Jeunet films and will see more after enjoying this film as I have, but I don't know that it can get much better than Amelie.

Visually, this film is absolutely gorgeous. Fantastic cinematography with wonderful camera angles and masterful sequencing. Jeunet has truly impressed me with his artistic style; he has great skill in bringing out specific colors for thematic effect, let alone his very creative and fun sequencing/camera angles. One camera angle which I particularly like is the "bug's eye view", which he only uses briefly in Amelie but used it a few times in The City of Lost Children.

In addition to the well-played "hero's journey" facet of the story, there is a fantastic underlying theme throughout the film - sight. Not so much the physical ability to see, but more how individuals see the world - that people see the world around them from their own perspective which may be very different than the next person, yet both have insights into life itself. This theme is nicely caveated with the old saying, "things are not always what they seem". Throughout the film's discourse, the astute viewer will see a myriad of subtle symbolism attributing to the layers of this critical theme.

A superb film, all around. There is no question for me how it rates.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Plot Effectiveness: 5/5. A tremendously fun, insightful and wonderful tale.

Cinematography/Shot Selection: 5/5. As I said, Jeunet's style has impressed me most profusely.

Overall Acting: 5/5. Outstanding performances all around. Audrey Tautou has become one of my favorite actresses.

Score/Soundtrack: 5/5. The buoyancy of the film's score accentuates the film's themes quite gracefully.

OVERALL RATING: 5/5

~Fentablar~