Amélie (2001)

 Never seen this film before but with it being 25 years since it was released, I thought I would give it a go. I went into it not knowing anything which may have been a mistake because for the first hour or so I didn’t really follow the overall plot. I had to step out of the cinema for a few moments when the popcorn and drinks that I ordered didn’t turn up and I felt like I had missed something because when I came back she had found a box and then things were happening. 

The film does date itself by having Princess Diana in the background of this story. When the film came out, she had only been dead four years and it was still painful for some people. Didn’t realise the French were so emotionally connected. Again I don't know if I missed something when I stepped out but this didn’t really seem to have any significant impact on the plot.

Audrey Tautou was quite good as the titular Amelie. She brought a charm to the story and her character was very likeable as she spends the entire film trying to do nice things even though she did cross a line really when she almost electrocuted someone after stealing keys that were accidentally left in the front door. To be fair that is a minor issue with her character as she does drive the story well and the film does suffer when she isn’t around.

The film has a good core of supporting characters with the hypochondriac being one of the more amusing ones. I did find myself wanting the story to stay in that cafe because it was a hotbed of interesting things and interactions going on. 

The vibe of the film is part fantastical and part real. If I didn’t know any better then I would say that this was a Wes Anderson film. It is certainly the sort of film he would make today. The director probably wanted to make this after the disaster of Alien Resurrection which was just bad. Its a better film than Alien Resurrection and it certainly feels like this is the film director wanted to make.

I thought the running gag of the gnome going around the world was quite funny. I also thought the relationship between Amelie and her father was quite nice despite not being the best but it’s definitely not the worst. Rufus played her father and brought a coldness that wasnt off putting but made the dynamic between the two seem more interesting than it probably should have been.

I wanted to like this movie but I found it slightly disappointing. I thought the film had some moments but this is one of those classic films that does seem to have been overhyped just a little bit. I am sorry to those that think it a five star classic but it just didn’t work for me. It’s not the worst film ever by any means but it was a bit too quirky for my tastes.