Amelie

Amelie was a different type of film to watch for me. The last movie I remember watching in subtitles was Passion of the Christ. While I thought the subtitles were effective for that movie and even MADE the movie to some extent, I also thought they were effective in Amelie as well, although not to that degree. The usage of subtitles pulled me in to the French style of talking and living, which I know I would not have gotten if the film was entirely in English. I saw an IMDB post that says the biggest crime of the movie is that it is in French, but that it is also its greatest strength because of the depth it creates. One problem I did have was the subplots were going in and out on me, so I feel as though I missed some of the movie! More problems with Netflix I guess!

            The story is about a seemingly ordinary French waitress that lives in isolation. She starts on a quest to find a boy that is now an adult and return to him a box of toys that she found when in despair over Princess Diana’s death in 1997. The movie has a simple plot and right away seems very childish and unrealistic; however the simplicity is a great strength of the movie in my opinion. Amelie could be described as very simple and remotely childish although imaginative, so the plot matches her personality very closely. One of the quirky parts of the film is Amelie’s smirk that is shown in some frozen shots to end scenes. The shot is also partially shown on the cover of the film. To me, this reflects the sarcastic, playful attitude of the film.

            I really the thought the film was quite funny and humorous. I laughed out loud at the 15 orgasm comment by Amelie as she was above the city. This humor is in contrast to the seemingly simple and dry life of Amelie. During this scene, the wide view of the city below is fascinating! I think the director used that show to capture the huge city and crease the illusion of Amelie in the city. During the movie, one technique I found effective was the use of slow motion and zoom to capture the expressions on people’s faces. This increases the importance of the emotions and makes sure that the viewer focuses on the feelings of the character at the time. Early on in the film, I felt myself drawing comparisons to television show Malcolm in the Middle as well as the children’s book and movie Madeline. I believe I had these feelings because of the focus on one character as well as the sarcastic tone surrounding the movies and shows.

            Scenes with black and white along with different music created a down trodden mood as well as reflecting on the past. The scene where the young boy drops the marbles is in black and white and is very effective in telling the viewer that it is a past event. The music is great because the movie watcher is expecting a sad scene and getting ready emotional for it. The scenes with sped up images and darting shots of the actors and their activities is also unique. I felt it had a great stirring effect on the film, which created a little confusion for the viewer as they had to stay on track with the film. I thought the film was good, but not great. I give it a 6.5 out of 10.