Amelie: Return To Reality

Amelie: Return to Reality

Amelie is not a film that I can easily to categorize. For twenty years Jean-Pierre Jeunet collected small astonishing and intriguing moments in his life, taking notes in his diary, not knowing that he was up to co-write and direct one of the most successful film in French film history. Amelie, Jeunet's most celebrated film, contained many elements of his own life. It is an outstanding movie in film history for its cinematography, the music, the story, but above all, the overall atmosphere. When I watch Amelie, I seek to escape my normal world for just a short period of time, to experience something totally different and yet, I want to find myself in this world. Surely, such movie cannot be simply romantic comedy.

The French film, Amelie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and released in 2001, portrays a beautifully painted tale bursting with vivid colors and characters. Amelie tells the story of an introverted, creative, impulsive young girl who discovers the joy of performing anonymous good deeds for lonely, despondent, troubled souls. From the opening scenes, this mischievous pixie with her wide eyes and cheeky grin steals our hearts. Amelie seeks to give back to people what they have lost; a childhood contained in a rusty box; forgiveness in a long-lost letter and love to two lonely people. Her desire to help is not sympathetic, but logical and pure of heart. Despite the fact that Amelie includes all the elements of a cliché romantic comedy, this film is best viewed through the lens of philosophical comedy because this genre illustrates Amelie's main theme--the need to face reality in order to attain happiness.

Amelie's father, towards the beginning of the film, has anti-social tendencies, which only increase after the death of his wife. He becomes obsessed with building a tiny shrine to house his late wife's ashes. Amelie, who knows of his desire to see the world, takes a gnome from the shrine and has a flight attendant send pictures back of it traveling around. At film's end, audience sees her father with two suitcases in hand, heading to the international airport. This evaluation becomes possible thanks to Amelie who helps him turn to face the real life.

Next Amelie's personage who supports my point of view on this film is Bretodeau. He is, towards the beginning of the film, estranged from his daughter who he has heard recently had a baby boy. After Amelie returns an old tin box, containing all his childhood treasures, he realizes how quickly time has gone by and decides to re-unite with his family "before he is in a box" too. At film's end, audience sees him sharing one of his favorite pleasures with his happy grandson. In this case, a step Bretodeau has to take is difficult ones--especially within his relative context. However, he looks at things as they are and as they can be, then finds the courage to act appropriately.

The theme is also dramatized in the character of Joseph. From the beginning of the film to the end, Joseph actually doesn't progress at all. He starts out as a pathologically jealous ex-boyfriend, imagining conspiracies against him at every turn, and he ends the film as such. Joseph has appeared not capable to look in the face of a reality. As consequence, he cannot achieve hormones in personal life.

Amelie chooses to face reality, to work on fixing her own life, and to find the courage to talk to Nino. And she, as usual, has decided upon a stratagem. There is a mystery behind one of Nino's projects, which she has solved, and her plan is to share the secret with him. She will, in effect, create an event that lets him discover it for himself and then meet him immediately after. As she walks towards Nino, she pauses and turns her back--but for the briefest of moments. He has not yet seen her. Having regained composure, she turns around--but, alas, he's not there! He has left. Later on, Amelie has retreated into her make-believe world once again. She is in her kitchen, imagining