Amelie (2001)

This film also goes under the names "Le Fableaux Destin du Amelie Poulain" and "Amelie from Montramarte". In French, subtitled in English.

Amelie is a quirky film in it's own genre and sure to charm anyone who watches it. The French film was released in America during the week of 9/11 and it was exactly what the country needed.

Amelie is about a woman played by the beautiful Audrey Tautou (you may recognize her from The Da Vinci Code) who leads a fantastic life. After charming the lives of seven unhappy Parisians, she finally falls in love. The only problem with this is that Amelie has never been in love. She is a woman who can make other people happy and yet has trouble making herself feel good.

Just like Jean-Pierre Jeunet's other films (A Very Long Engagement, The City of Lost Children), there is a very dream-like feeling to it. Amelie is digitally colored in way to accentuate the surreality of it and cause the viewer to be in a daze of color. The film is generally slightly tinted certain colors just as A Very Long Engagement was tinted yellow.

The French humor in the film is hilarious. I have never seen anything like the scene in which Amelie keeps herself occupied. This is the only scene in the film which is in any way inappropriate. Amelie ponders to herself how many people in the world are having an orgasm at this exact second. In true Jeunet fashion, he shows them as she counts. Her answer is seventeen and she smiles. Odd and yet at the same time very artistic and comical.

Amelie is the perfect movie for a bad day. It is the best feel-good movie that I know of. In fact, I'm pretty sure this film changed my life. It will encourage you to make others and yourself feel happy. Go ahead. Make yourself feel better. Watch Amelie.