I don't like that many romantic comedies, mainly because a lot of them aren't that good and incredibly shallow. That's why this is my favourite. Unlike most of them, it is good. I'm not an expert on French cinema, but this is the best known and most highly regarded French film ever.
It is all about a young woman called Amélie Poulain, played by Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code and Coco Before Chanel). She has had an isolated childhood and created her own imaginary friends. Her mother is killed by a suicidal tourist from Quebec, so she spends most of her life living with her father. Fast forward to age 23, she works at the Café de 2 Moulins at Montmartre. On 30th August 1997, her life is changed forever, on a day the whole world will remember. She finds a tin box belonging to the previous occupant of her apartment. She returns it to him and his reaction makes her think that she should help everyone around her, such as her colleagues, her landlady and her father. However, it becomes clear that the person who needs her help the most is herself.
I do like the way Jean-Pierre Jeunet introduces the characters, mainly by describing what they like and don't like. This includes Amélie's parents, the café regulars, even a cat. This show similarities between certain ones. One of my particular favourite moments is when Amélie is still a child. She is fooled by her neighbour into thinking she has caused a car accident, but gets her revenge by messing around with his TV reception. I also love the fact Amélie tries to encourage her father to travel, mainly by stealing his treasured garden gnome and giving it to a stewardess, who takes it with her around the world, taking pictures of it in front of, for example, St. Basil's Cathedral and The Statue of Liberty. Jeunet's uses of colour, special effects and cinematography are well done, in a way that if a Hollywood director got a hold of it, they would have gone over the top. Still, it is the highest-grossing French-language film to be released in America.
This is the film that really did make a name of Audrey Tautou. She received a BAFTA nomination for her performance in this film. She does give a convincing performance as someone who wants to help everyone around her and you would want to be help by someone like her. She is in my opinion currently France's best actress, even though she hasn't won an Oscar like Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche.
The soundtrack to this film is superb. It's written by Yann Tiersen, who also wrote the music for the next film in my list. This is the kind of music you can imagine hearing only in France. Whenever I hear the last 45 seconds of the piece below, I imagine just running down the Champs-Élysées The only way it could be more French is if there was a beret and some onions. Apparently, Jeunet originally wanted Michael Nyman to compose the score, but if he had would it be as memorable as Tiersen's?
Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of romantic comedies, especially of the modern day variety. Richard Curtis ones are sometimes amusing, mainly because it is Richard Curtis and he wrote The Vicar of Dibley and Blackadder. I did recently watch Annie Hall and I did find that quite amusing; I think it is more of a comedy than a romance film. Amélie has the right mix of both elements. You see a woman looking for the love of her life, but you also have a suicidal goldfish. You find the characters engaging; it's beautifully shot and it is perhaps the best French film ever. Well it is in my opinion. I'm not an expert on French cinema, so don't come to me if you want to know about it. I only took a module called An Introduction to European Cinema and A-Level French (which didn't go according to plan)...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for commenting...