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Amelie- A Must See

© Rob Harding

The Holiday Season is a great time to head out to the movies. As such, there is no shortage of Hollywood Blockbusters unveiled to tempt your movie palate. While Oceans 11, Vanilla Sky, and Ali are great options, the one must-see movie of the season comes to us from France.

Amelie is one of the most enjoyable, charming movies you'll ever be fortunate enough to see. Amelie is Audrey Tautou, a waitress living in the Montmatre suburb of Paris. Amelie leads a quiet life; she is shy and somewhat reclusive, not quite fitting in anywhere, including her own skin. She seems to be floating without purpose, until one day when she finds an old box of childhood treasures behind a wall in her bathroom and sets about to find the owner. Having seen the joy she brought to the now-grown man, she discovers what she believes is her purpose in this life, to make sense of others lives when they themselves can not. Secretly, she begins to toy with the lives of those around her, helping with their romantic lives, or punishing those who are spiteful and rude.

All of this is fine, but who will save Amelie? She finds herself one day meeting a man who is just as alone and enigmatic as herself, but can not find a way to help herself like she has helped so many others. And so, this is the story. It is a wonderful script, full of quirky charm. Audrey Tautou does a splendid job bringing Amelie to life, so much so that I found myself falling for the character during the course of the movie. When she meets her mystery man, I felt an actual pang of jealousy, and had to shake myself back to reality, as it is just a movie. The performance is that good. I defy you to mock me after seeing this movie.

The movie is subtitled, obviously, but that only adds to the charm. This is a movie that could not be an American Movie. It is the anti-studio, Hollywood story, full of adventure and invention, charm and charisma, and it is the must-see of 2001. You may have to look further than your local Multi-plex, but I implore you to do so, as it would be a shame for any movie lover to pass Amelie by.

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