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Writer's pictureJames Rutherford

‘Amélie’: The Delightful, Highly Stylized Exploits of a Fanciful Young Parisian Woman


Movie poster for the French film Amélie starring Audrey Tautou

“Amélie” (“Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain”) is a whimsical and charming French comedy-fantasy from 2001 starring Audrey Tautou as the titular heroine, a highly fanciful yet socially withdrawn young woman who works as a waitress in the Montmartre district of Paris.


Raised by her widowed father Raphaël (Jacques Narcy) and home schooled from an early age, Amélie has developed a robust imagination that often leads her on wild flights of fancy. One day discovering an old memorabilia box hidden away in her home years earlier, she decides to locate its owner and return it's treasured contents—thereby inspiring a life dedicated to the happiness of others. She soon launches into an impassioned campaign of well-intentioned good deeds, bringing joy and reconciliation to those around her, while slowly drawing herself closer to a quirky young man named Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz).


Co-written and directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (“Delicatessen”, “The City of Lost Children”), “Amélie” is a unconventional yet light-hearted escapade, replete with offbeat comedy, sparkling romance and Jeunet’s unique fusion of eccentricity and visual flamboyance. With an enormous assist from Tautou in her unique, star-making performance, it’s a fresh and utterly magnanimous creation bound to charm and enchant in equal measure.

 

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