by William McTell

Created on: February 22, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amlie Poulain (The Fabulous Life of Amlie Poulain)

I bought this film on the basis that I had heard good things about it, immediately I had my doubts for several reasons. 1) It is a French film- they tend to be romantic, unnecessarily erotic films with the plot: Girl with oddly large breasts meets boy and fornication and various other things ensue. 2) The certain person who gave me the advice to buy this film has an obsession with people such as- Ben Folds, John Barrowman and that guy from ER. She also dislikes House. 3) It cost 5.99. However, I was encouraged by the fact that it was a Jean- Pierre Jeunet film (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children.) He is noted in various places as an eccentric and highly acclaimed director. So when I got the DVD home and watched it I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the film.

Amelie looks at the turbulent life of Amelie Poulain: after being falsely diagnosed with a heart defect by her father, she is kept at home leaving her with very few interactions with other children. This leads her to retreat into her imagination and create a fantasy world away from her over- protective parents. When she leaves home she finds work at a Parisian caf. After an epiphany she decides to try and help other people sort there own lives out and find love though she has no- one to sort her own life out for her. It is only when she falls for Nino Quincampoix an eccentric collector of torn up self photos she deems to help him though she is too shy to actually approach him and in turn see if she could perhaps finally find happiness.
The film would be nothing without Audrey Tautou (A very long engagement, The Da Vinci Code) - no one else could have pulled off such a role, other than Jean Reno though he would look out of place in a red dress one feels. She gives a convincing and thoroughly enjoyable performance as Amelie Poulain and leads the viewer into the world of Amelie where one's reality blends with hers. She is supported by Mathieu Kassovitz (Caf au Lait, Munich) and Rufus (Delicatessen, the Tenant) All of which giving cheerful and eccentric performances to aid the general feeling of the film.
But full credit must go to Jeunet; he has written a masterpiece and then turned it into a masterful screenplay- using cameras and effects perfectly especially in a scene on the train. He has created a heart warming, eccentric and comical movie that's deserving of any praise and award it gets and then some. His selection of the cast is perfect, and then to pick Andr Dussollier (Un cur en hiver, Un long dimanche de fianailles) to narrate his masterpiece was a stroke of genius- his voice is deep and enthralling and is sure to make most ladies tremble at the knees. Jeunet has turned what could have been a very poor attempt at a film into a masterpiece.

Incredible

9/ 10

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