Movie Review: Amélie (2001)

Source: Wikipedia

Plot Summary (Taken from IMDB): Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love.

My Review: One of the best things about this movie is the main character. Amelie is a young who has been isolated from the world so much that she has retreated into her imagination. This causes her to communicate very little to others. When she does communicate, it is in elaborate schemes that feature things like practical jokes and posters. A touching thing about her unusual method of communication is that almost all her schemes aim to help others.

Besides Amelie, the secondary characters are wonderful. Some of them are just as eccentric as Amelie, but some also have interesting quirks. For instance, a painter named Dufayel has withdrawn from others, but he is also very caring and helpful toward Amelie and one other character.

In addition to the characters, the fantasy aspect of the film was great. Literally bringing Amelie’s imagination to life lets the viewer inside Amelie’s head and provides an interesting perspective. It also and adds humor and depth to Amelie’s character and the overall storyline.

The only flaw in the film was the romance between Amelie’s character and her love interest. While the way Amelie attempts to communicate with him is amusing, the romance when they finally get together felt rushed.

Overall, this was an entertaining French film.  I’d recommend it to older teens and adults who like romance and fantasy, but not to families because it is sexually explicit.