I love this movie. No, no, I adore this movie. J’adore, J’aime, all that.
It’s a beautiful film, it’s quirky as hell, and I genuinely love it. I should watch more French movies, and I will this year! But, being one of the first big ones I’ve seen, this is a great start! So, let’s go into the Review, huh? I’m just excited to get into it! Check out the Recap here and here!
Review
Cast and Acting: 9/10
What else is there to say, except that Audrey Tautou is insanely charming, and genuinely one of my favorite leading ladies this month. I initially thought that Amélie was gonna be a manic pixie dreamgirl with little else to her as a character, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised. Quirky, yes. Cares about helping others over herself? Sort of. But her character was such dimension, that she’s genuinely loveable, and Tautou plays this, just...mmmmmmmmmWAH chef’skiss.
I actually want to see more of her relationship with Nino, as I also quite like Mathieu Kassovitz in this movie. I don’t think there’s a lot of him, but there isn’t really supposed to be. Still, I buy his curiosity and connection with Amélie, and he’s still an interesting guy. But the biggest thing I have to give this movie is the supporting characters, basically all of whom are memorable. The acting’s not always perfect, but the characters are great. But who specifically? Well, you’ve got Rufus, Clotilde Mollet, Claire Maurier, Isabelle Nanty, Dominique Pinon, Yolande Moreau, Urbain Cancelier, Jamel Debbouze, and Maurice Benichou. And ALL OF THEM are memorable, in one way or another. Proof? They play, respectively, Dad, the waitress, the café owner, the hypochondriac, the possessive asshole, the lonely widow, the cruel grocer, the grocer’s assistant, and the estranged grandfather. And I can remember multiple character moments from EACH of them. And THAT ISN’T EVEN INCLUDING THE BEST SUPPORTING CHARACTER OF ALL
Serge Merlin as the Glass Man is absolutely lovely. He’s such a supporting guy, although he’s also very gruff and grumpy in his way. His obsession with viewing the unreachable outside world through videotape, and with filmmaking in general; his paintings, and repeating said painting for years on end; and his sage advice despite a lack of experience in the outside world...I love it, and Serge Merlin is perfect in delivering it.
Plot and Writing: 9/10
French. That is the best way I can describe this writing. I can’t claim that I’ve seen many French film, because I really haven’t, but this film just felt...SO goddamn French. Which, to be clear, isn’t good or bad, it’s just the feeling that this film gave me from the very opening lines. And those opening lines were great! Yeah, the weird quirks added to the fascinatingly good narration just give this movie (and the world of this movie) such life, that it’s hard to fully describe. This film’s screenplay, written by Guillaume Laurant, is just fantastically written and executed, and I genuinely adore all of it. So why the one point off? I mean, for an original screenplay, the plot isn’t exactly groundbreaking. Not that every plot needs to be, but it is a fairly standard structure. Y’know, girl meets boy, shenanigans, happy ending. I know that’s an unfair breakdown, considering, but it’s just what comes to mind.
Directing and Cinematography: 10/10
Brilliant. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is amazing, Bruno Delbonnel is amazing, and this movie is shot spectacularly. Now, editing takes a good chunk here, too, but the cinematography is what pushed this category to perfect. This film is shot marvelously, and I don’t even have much else to say. It’s just a good looking movie. Of course, that’s also dependent on...
Production and Art Design: 9/10
...which is also fantastic. So, in developing this blog and my movie tastes, I’ve come to a realization about how I judge this category, personally. If you can show me a random shot from a film, and I can recognize it from that shot, then the production and art design teams have done their job. Now, that doesn’t always work, but some movies I can see that working very well. This one is one of them, mostly because of the lighting chosen and some of the other iconic features, from costumes to certain set elements. But it isn’t perfect. I wouldn’t recognize it from shots of the city, for example. Even a shot of certain locations, I think, would give me some trouble. But the odds are high that I’d figure it out from only a few shots. So, high marks!
Music and Editing: 9/10
Again, in terms of the music anyway: Française. Pure and unyielding French. And again, there is nothing wrong with that whatsoever. Yann Tiersen constructed a beautiful score, and one that is recognizable. Real talk, if you’re looking for a good lo-fi music score to film study to, this isn’t the worst choice for some tracks. Here, check it out! But OK, what about the editing? PHENOMENAL. The enacting of the screenplay was flawless, and captures the quirky tone of this film perfectly. Much credit given to Hervé Schneid for it, because it’s amazing.
Quatre-vingt-douze pour cent! That’s, uh, 92%.
And a deserved 92%, if you ask me! I adore this movie, and it’s one that I’ll be watching again. I actually think the GF would like this movie; seems up her alley.
But OK, that’s a big one off my list. It’s considered one of the best French films of the 2000s, as well still being the highest-grossing French film in the USA. Didn’t win any awards over here (unfortunately), but it did win two BAFTAs, for Original Screenplay (deserved) and Production Design (also deserved). I don’t know much about the BAFTAs as compared to the Oscars, but I should check them out one of these days. I’ll be bringing them up more, at any rate.
Next, let’s go back to the USA, for a love story. Literally.
