In 2001, the director of "Alien: Resurrection" released a lighthearted, mold-breaking, whimsical film that has dazzled audiences for the past 15 years. "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain," known simply as "Amélie" in the United States, is a fantastically pure and magical film that follows, as the title suggests, the life of Amélie Poulain.
Amélie is a young woman with a difficult past; her father was so emotionally distant that he declared her unfit for school because the only time he ever touched her was for monthly checkups, during which her heart beat so fast that he believed she was plagued by a heart disease. Her nerve-stricken mother was killed by a person jumping off of the Notre Dame tower. During the telling of her childhood, we are greeted with random and sudden interjections of surrealism, such as an imaginary friend and a record being painted into existence like a pancake. These scenes are interspersed throughout the film without introduction, but they lend aid to the lighthearted nature of the movie.
As an adult, Amélie lives alone and works in a small cafe with some vibrant characters. She generally keeps to herself until the news of Princess Diana's death causes her to drop a bottle cap, which dislodges a tile and enables her to find an old tin box containing tidbits from a stranger's childhood. It is at this moment that Amélie discovers her passion in life: to help people. She returns the box to its rightful and grateful owner, and goes on to perform other small acts of kindness for her coworkers and father and strangers. These small acts go a long way in the end, turning all of their lives around for the better.
As for Amélie, she finds love in a man who creates an album of discarded photo booth photos. In a series of "strategems," Amélie slowly courts the man. It takes an hour for them to actually meet face to face, and at that point the tension has gotten so strong that when they do meet it is a beautiful and tender moment.
Amélie is a beautiful, charming film that captures youth, mischief, and fantasy all in an adult setting. The film is well deserving of all of its acclaim and appraisal, and I highly recommend it.
