Amelie (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writers: Guillaume Laurant, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Screenplay)
Stars: Audrey Tautou, Matthieu Kassovitz, Jamel Debbouze, Serge Merlin

Amelie takes you to a world you wish you could be with characters you wish you knew. It's clever, funny, sweet and always intriguing. From the very first scene it sucks you into a magical, romantic France. This is one of those movies where you catch yourself grinning like an idiot over and over. It's perfect in its own quirky little way.


It's about a young woman named Amelie, who "doesn't relate to other people. She was always a lonely child."  Even though she doesn't relate to people, her favorite thing to do is help others. Whether it be describing delicacies to a blind man or convincing a troubled widow that her husband loved her, she's always helping others. Along the way, Amelie learns more about life and love from a reclusive old painter named The Glass Man (Serge Merlin). Altogether, the story is marvelous.

One thing I loved about this film was that it looks and sounds like a fairytale. I absolutely loved the musical score by Yann Tiersen. The score is what can turn a great film into a masterpiece, which is what this score did. It's beautiful on its own, but perfect when combined with this film. The cinematography was divine, painting a picture of France the way old Hollywood movies used to.

All of the performances were brilliant. I feel the need to single out one in particular, and that is Serge Merlin as The Glass Man. He exuded intelligence, melancholy and a caring love for Amelie. He was the standout among a great cast. Audrey Tautou had great chemistry with Matthieu Kassovitz, making the romance element of the film highly interesting. Every character had a story, every actor their time to shine and each did an outstanding job.

When you really think about it, it's a simple story. Jeunet managed to lift it to a masterpiece by perfecting each and every aspect about it. This simple story had really powerful dialogue. The dialogue was spoken by brilliant actors. The characters emotions and messages were lifted to soaring heights by the music and scenery. Everything worked masterfully together. It's one of those rare gems that you can watch again and again without ever getting bored.