Amélie (2001) - Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Related: French cinema - film - "feel good" films
Released in 2001, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain), or Amélie, as it is known in the English-speaking world, is a quirky French romantic comedy, or a modern fairy tale, starring Audrey Tautou. It draws on the attractions of the touristic areas of Paris (Montmartre), in a somewhat idealized depiction of contemporary Parisian life. [Aug 2006]
Amélie Poulain is the pinnacle of "faux" happiness; please try Chocolat (2000) instead.
Amélie (2001) - Jean-Pierre Jeunet [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Description
Released in 2001, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain), or Amélie, as it is known in the English-speaking world, is a quirky French romantic comedy, or a modern fairy tale, starring Audrey Tautou. It draws on the attractions of the touristic areas of Paris (Montmartre), in a somewhat idealized depiction of contemporary Parisian life.
The film is also known for its creative use of computer-generated imagery. Amélie was nominated for five Academy awards and was nominated or awarded by every major film association.
The film was originally released in France in April, 2001. It was released in Britain in October of that year, and in the USA in November. The film's American distributor is Miramax.
Criticism
The film was a critical and commercial success, but it was attacked by critics such as Serge Kaganski of les Inrockuptibles for its depiction of a largely unrealistic and picturesque vision of contemporary French society, a postcard universe of a bygone France with few people from ethnic minorities — some kind of latent lepénisme. Paris is an ethnically diverse city, and there is next to Montmartre an area (Barbčs-Rochechouart) that includes many black residents, none of whom are visible in the film. If the director was trying to create an idyllic vision of a perfect Paris, the critics argued, he seemed to think that it was necessary to remove all black people from the scene in order to do so.
Others, such as David Martin-Castelnau and Guillaume Bigot, contended that such criticism was unwarranted and was rather the sign of a sick contempt of some of the "elite" for the common people represented in the movie. Jean-Pierre Jeunet responded to the criticisms by pointing out that Jamel Debbouze, who plays Lucien, is of North African origin.
One may also point out that, given the current gentrification of the Montmartre area, a young waitress like Amélie probably does not have the financial means to live close to her work. The film does depict an improbable universe where Amélie lives close to her work (without the need for lengthy métro or other transportation) and has plenty of free time outside her job.
See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%E9lie
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