Watching "Amélie," I had a smile on my face the entire time, beginning to end. It's that kinda movie.
As soon as the movie starts, it's obvious that it's something different. Characters are introduced by a fast-talking narrator who gives brief descriptions of all of the characters, but the descriptions are unusual. The thing is, the movie is French with English subtitles, and when watching a subtitled movie, the last thing you want is a fast-talking narrator. Once things settle down, though, everything is fine.
The original French title of the movie is "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain," which translates in English to "The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain." Isn't that a great title? I think it is. It's much better than the dull "Amélie." I think they shoulda just translated the French title, it's much more interesting that way.
"Amélie" is a movie filled with bizarre characters, fun dialogue, and unusual situations. I sat there smiling at one great moment after another. I really enjoyed this movie. A lot of people did, actually. It's been winning quite a few awards in film festivals. "Amélie" is a real crowd-pleaser.
The director is Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who is probably my favorite French director. He, along with Marc Caro, directed two great French films, "The City of Lost Children" and "Delicatessen." If you haven't seen those movies, you must. They're excellent. "The City of Lost Children" looks like a movie that Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam had collaborated on. "Delicatessen"... well, there's no way to describe that one. Trust me, they're both great, and you need to see 'em. When it was time for Jean-Pierre Jeunet to make a movie in America, it was "Alien Resurrection," the fourth film in the "Alien" franchise. It's not a great movie, mostly because of the weak script, but visually, it's beautiful. Jeunet usually gets involved with the writing in his films. He helped write "The City of Lost Children" and "Delicatessen," and he helped write "Amélie." He collaborated with Guillaume Laurant, who also helped write "The City of Lost Children."
By the way, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, as far as I know, didn't get involved with the writing for "Alien Reurrection." That was probably the movie's first mistake.
This movie was very well-acted, and the important role of "Amélie" was played by Audrey Tautou. I've never seen her before, though she's been in several French films I never heard of. She's not beautiful, but she's very cute. She has a very expressive face, I love her facial reactions to the things going on around her. She really has the perfect face for the role. She stars along with Mathieu Kassovitz, who's probably known better for his directing than his acting. He wrote and directed "Hate," a popular independent film from a few years back, and most recently, he directed and helped write "The Crimson Rivers," which I haven't seen yet, but I really want to. He DID have a small role as a mugger in "The Fifth Element," an American film directed by popular French director Luc Besson. Fans of Jean-Pierre Jeunet will be happy to know that Dominique Pinon is in the movie. Pinon is a staple in Jeunet's films. He was in "The City of Lost Children," he starred in "Delicatessen," and he even had a pretty big role in "Alien Resurrection." He has a funny face, almost like a clown's. I like that he's always in Jeunet's films. He seems to belong in them.
"Amélie" is a nice movie that really entertained me. Sure, it drags a few times, but I was never really bored. All the characters are so quirky and likable, and it's great watching them all interact. There are moments that are hilarious, and a moment or two that are kinda sad, but for the most part, "Amélie" is a movie that will make you very happy that you're watching it.
Scale of 1-10: 9