When I first saw the poster for this movie at my local art house cinema, I knew I was going to love this film. By now, of course, most of you know that it stars the wonderful Audrey Tautou (He Loves Me He Loves Me Not, Priceless, A Very Long Engagement, etc.). Already a relatively well-known actress in France, this film made her world famous. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (A Very Long Engagement, and more recently, Micmacs) starts the film off with a brilliant gag on Amelie's beginning before taking us to present day, where she works as a waitress in a small cafe.
As the impish and meddling title character, Tautou takes it upon herself to change the lives of those around her, starting with her father. A widow, he dreams of travel but can't seem to take that fabled first step. In order to give him the nudge he needs she kidnaps his garden gnome and sends it on a trip around the world (by the way, this is a gag that had its origin in Australia back in the 1980's). Her interfering in others lives continues as the film progresses. She engineers a romance between two unhappy people in her cafe, and a grocer that's being cruel to his assistant (Jamel Debbouze, Angel-A) gets his comeuppance.
This film is full of the gags that Jeunet likes to put in his movies, but the sum is much bigger than the parts, despite the mild criticism he received for showing the city of Paris in such a fantastical light. After all, Amelie is a fairy tale. There are so many delightful, quirky moments in Amelie that you'll want to watch it over and over.
DVD Details:
Actors: Audrey Tautou, Jamel Debbouze, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta, Serge Merlin
Directors: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writers: Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillaume Laurant
Producers: Arne Meerkamp van Embden, Claudie Ossard, Helmut Breuer, Jean-Marc Deschamps
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 1 U.S. and Canada only.
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: July 16, 2002
Run Time: 122 minutes
Special Features:
The "Look of Amelie" (English) Featurette
Fantasies of Audrey Tautou (French with English subtitles)
Q & A with Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (English)
Q & A with Director and Cast (French with English subtitles)
Auditions -- Audrey Tautou, Urbain Cancelier, Yolande Moreau (French with English subtitles)
Storyboard Comparison
An Intimate Chat with Jean-Pierre Jeunet (French with English subtitles)
Home Movies - "Inside the Making of Amelie" (French with English subtitles)
The Amelie Scrapbook -- "Behind the Scenes," French Poster Concepts
For more French movie reviews go to I Love French Movies, where you'll find information on some of the best action, comedies, and dramas that the French have to offer, as well as a few American movies that were filmed in France. (C) Will Atkinson
