Tuesday, January 26, 2010

#34 Amélie - Fifteen

2001. dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin. French with subtitles.

Seen it before? Yes

I liked it so much the first time I saw it (though I was extremely tired and fell asleep) that Sam bought it for me as a present. I don't think I've ever watched it without the English captions...Maybe I could use this movie to learn French...ha ha.

I loved Amélie's smile. It was both mischievous and child-like even though sometimes the smiles would come out during times you would not expect...in the middle of sex for one. I loved that all the people had quirks that made them more real. I felt bad that young Amélie was so devoid of interaction with her father that her heart would race and therefore he thought she had a heart condition.

I loved the movie so much that I could write a novel so I'll try to keep this short and sweet...
Likes -
1. Bretodeau - How sweet! A chicken and roast potatoes every Tuesday and a tiny box of childhood
2. The traveling garden gnome...this movie came out in 2001...Travelocity began running their gnome adds in 2004...
3. Retribution and the grocery store manager...little things like electrocution and tooth-glue; smaller shoes and something in the liquor he drank.
4. The Renoir painter...with more insight than any other character
5. The minute Amélie spent with the man from the subway who plays records -
Amélie: [to blind man] Let me help you. Step down. Here we go! The drum major's widow! She's worn his coat since the day he died. The horse's head has lost an ear! That's the florist laughing. He has crinkly eyes. In the bakery window, lollipops. Smell that! They're giving out melon slices! Sugarplum, ice cream! We're passing the park butcher. Ham, 79 francs. Spareribs, 45! Now the cheese shop. Picadors are 12.90. Cabecaus 23.50. A baby's watching a dog that's watching the chickens. Now we're at the kiosk by the metro. I'll leave you here. Bye!
6. Amélie's interactions with her distant/reclusive father; particularly -
Amélie: [to her father, who is not paying attention] I had two heart attacks, an abortion, did crack... while I was pregnant. Other than that, I'm fine.
7. The photo booth pictures...sure they were half the "non-existent" plot but it was rather amusing to learn who the mystery man was
8. The creepy stalker guy and the hypochondriac cigarette sales girl - do people really exist who are this neurotic? In real life - SCARY; in this movie - quite hilarious actually
9. One of my most favorite parts:
Narrator: Amélie still seeks solitude. She amuses herself with silly questions about the world below, such as "How many people are having an orgasm right now?"
[scenes of various orgasms taking place]
Amélie: Fifteen.

Dislikes -
The grocery man and how he was mean to his employee - ARGH!
What happened to her mother...
The crazy landlady - he's gone, move on...I know this sounds mean but you'll see.

Okay, Yes, I would absolutely see it again...
Yes, I own it...
No, I didn't get a tooth infection from watching the film, unlike my handsome husband apparently did.

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