Supporting Victims: Joel Fuernsinn
Audrey Tautou plays Amélie in "Le Fabuleux
Destin d'Amélie Poulain" ("TheFabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain"),
a title shortened in American theaters to simply "Amélie". Amélie
was conceived at the exact moment that a bluebottle fly, its wings beating at
14,607 beats per minute decides to land on a street, much to its detriment, and
that a wind causes two wine glasses to magically dance on a tabletop. We learn
that she likes the simple things in life like looking back to see the faces of
the people watching a movie, dipping her hands in sacks of grain or legumes,
skipping rocks in the canal, and cracking the caramel topping of a crème brulée
with her teaspoon. She dislikes things like classic American films where the
driver doesn't watch the road. None of these details are relevant to the plot,
of course, but they give Amélie's world a sense of depth and presence.
Through the help of a narrator and a series of vivid vignettes, we're introduced
to Amélie's difficult beginnings as a child of a "neurotic" and an
"iceberg". She eventually leaves home and we find her working as a
waitress at the Two Windmills cafe. She's still very solitary and shy but, we're
told, her life would be changed completely in 48 hours. After this event occurs,
she decides to devote her time to helping, in small ways, the various people
that she likes in her life, such as her emotionally distant father (Rufus), a
hypochondriac named Georgette (Isabelle Nanty), and the assistant grocer
Bretodeau (Maurice Benichou). The rest of the movie concerns the various
"stratagems" that she employs to alter these lives for the better, her
odd encounters with a man named Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz) whose hobby
is collecting the discarded ID photos near coin-operated photo booths, and how
she eventually changes enough to find her way out of her shell.
There are many charming and funny moments in the movie that I'm dying to share
but won't because it would spoil your own fun. Well, just one. An early vignette
involves Amélie as a child taking pictures with an old Instamatic camera of
fluffy clouds in the shape of various animals when a car accident happens in
front of her. A neighbor convinces her that she caused the accident with her
camera. She spends the rest of the day wracked with guilt, watching the TV,
believing that she had caused a ferry accident, two derailments, and the crash
of a 747. When she realizes that she'd been duped, she gets her revenge on this
evil neighbor in a very exacting and hilarious manner: cutting off his cable
just before each goal attempt during a televised soccer match. What makes these
moments work is that the audience comes to care about the characters and develop
an empathy for their various predicaments.
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet gives the characters room to breathe and develop.
There are many moments where the only things moving the story forward are the
setting, the facial expressions of the characters, and perhaps the music. These
are the kind of quiet intimate moments that make up the shape of most of our
lives but which rarely intrude themselves into the constant snappy dialogue and
action of American cinema. Tautou is the perfect center for the movie. With her
waif's haircut, beauty, emotional range, and mischievous air, she gives Amélie
a lively, animated, and real presence. I was reminded of Audrey Hepburn when
watching her and was surprised to learn later that Tautou's first name was also
Audrey. It would be interesting to know if that was a coincidence.
"Amélie" represents a different kind of filmmaking and storytelling
that I wish I could watch more often. I could go on to say nice things about the
cute visual effects that complemented the story and moods of the characters. I
could describe some of the stills that ranged from dramatic to intimate. I could
say that I greatly appreciated the subdued music that helped to set the
emotional tone of the movie and did not try to market itself as a product. But
what I enjoyed most about the movie was the quiet nature and simplicity of all
the elements. This is easily one of my favorite movies this year and will easily
be a contender for Best Foreign Film if not Best Picture. I highly recommend
that you see this movie somewhere and give it a 9 out of 10 on the Good Movie
Scale.
