With its use of special effects to express the main character's internal emotions, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie could have been mistaken for a French version of Ally McBeal; however, unlike Ally--"woe is me for I cannot find a man"--McBeal, Amelie is not distressed by the lack of men in her life, in fact the whole idea of sex seems to amuse her no end. Basic pleasures such as cracking the top of a Crème Brule offer her all the sensual satisfaction she needs and her existence in the "Paris of Dreams" is the stuff of fairy tales. Indeed, this cinematic treat must have... worked wonders for the Paris tourist board: Jeunet's beautiful interpretation of Parisian life is depicted in all the vibrant colours you would expect from the director of Delicatessen. On the DVD: Amelie has received an additional disc for this special edition release. Disc 1 is the same as the original single-disc release, with a choice of DTS or Dolby 5.1 sound and an 16.9 anamorphic widescreen picture with optional director's commentary. The second disc contains the new special features and, just like original disc, a lot of thought has gone into the access menu with its lavish graphics offering the choice of entering the Café, the Canal or the Station. Yet the most exciting extra in name--"Audrey Tautou's funny face"--is simply a series of out-takes which does little more than allow you to warm to Tautou as a person. The home movie includes the transformation of Tautou into Amelie and the creation of the "photo-booth album". There are also interesting interviews with Jeunet and the cast and crew, and a nice little section themed around the gnome and his travels. Along with this is a storyboard-to-screen exposition, behind-the-scenes pictures, scene tests, teasers and trailers. All in all a decent enough package, but hardly warranting the special edition label. It's hard not to wonder why Momentum didn't offer this set two months earlier. --Nikki Disney [show more]
Magical and enchanting. These are two words that spring to mind when thinking of 'Amelie'. I guarantee that you will think of hundreds more when you watch it, as its power to provoke thought and imagination is unrivalled in world cinema.
Jeunet's films all have this kind of surreal warmth around them but 'Amelie' stands out from the crowd even more so than the others. This is likely much to do with the beautiful Audrey Tautou's performance throughout, which fuses the quirky yet oddly believable storyline into something that will make you grin, frown, laugh, raise an eyebrow and even cry.
There is much truth to be found in this film, whether personally for you or just plausibly for someone, but either way, if you're a fan of artistic cinema, have a sense of humour and an interest in human observation, and don't mind subtitles, this will easily find its way into your top ten films of all time. However, it will suck you in so far that you'll likely forget you're even reading the subtitles!
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Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play. She'll change your life. Amelie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who glides through the streets of Paris: observing. With wide eyes and a tiny grin, she sees the world in a magical light, discovering minor miracles every day. A shy girl whose favorite moments are spent alone skimming stones into the water, Amelie was raised by a pair of eccentrics who falsely diagnosed her with a heart problem at the age of six and so limited her exposure to the outside world. Now a free and independent woman, Amelie wears a bob that curls in every direction and dresses in red. With a job in a cafe and an aptitude for spying on her neighbors, Amelie entertains herself by enacting a series of homemade, kindhearted practical jokes.
Audrey Tautou stars in this French drama directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. When Montmartre-dwelling Amelie Poulain (Tautou) discovers a hidden collection of childhood toys in her apartment and conspires to return them to their now-elderly owner, the happiness on the old man's face is enough to start her on a campaign of further good works. Thus she sends her father's gnome off on a tour of the world, begins a whispering campaign which helps her colleague Georgette find a boyfriend, and comes up with an imaginative way to stop a local grocer from being cruel to his employee. But even though Amelie brings happiness to her neighbours, she herself remains unlucky in love - that is, until she meets the handsome Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz).
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