Has There Ever Been a Extra Joyful Film Than Amélie?

Strive placing pure pleasure into phrases. The English language has loads of worthy adjectives and delightful metaphors however nothing fairly comes shut to truly, completely capturing what it feels prefer to be fully full of happiness. To reverberate with delight. To drift on cloud 9. No, to adequately seize that feeling, you want extra than simply phrases. You want footage, you want sounds, you want story. You want… Amélie.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the 2001 fantasy romance lately bought a restricted version Blu-ray steelbook launch, and it felt like the right alternative to revisit a movie that has lengthy been considered one of my private favorites. I noticed Amélie in theaters when it was first launched and immediately turned obsessed. It had, and nonetheless has, an power, angle, and voice all its personal. Within the years that adopted, I watched it usually.

However, it’s been plenty of years since then and to be sincere, I hadn’t seen it once more shortly. Throughout that point, the world has modified. I’ve modified. And once I popped in Amélie this week it hit me in methods I by no means imagined. From the very first moments, the place the movie begins to speak about random acts of magnificence occurring concurrently throughout France, a rush of feelings started flooding by way of me. May it have been the second glass of wine I used to be having fun with? For positive. And but from the primary body of Amélie you’re in for one thing particular. One thing that, for those who’ve already skilled it, is sort of extra thrilling as a result of what you’re in for: a cinematic curler coaster experience of guffaws, love, and elation.

For anybody who perhaps hasn’t seen the movie, Amélie follows the lifetime of an introverted lady (performed with a contagious, infectious sweetness by Audrey Tautou) who finds function by serving to others by way of random acts of kindness. Amélie’s actions make everybody round her pleased, however she’s nonetheless unhappy, so she tries to make use of the identical techniques on her crush, a person named Nico performed by Mathieu Kassovitz.

Amélie is a lot extra than simply that plot although. It’s a celebration of life. A reminder that the nice you place on the earth can and can come again to you. As Amélie strikes by way of Jeunet’s vibrant, lush Paris, you may’t assist however smile your complete time. The movie is hilarious, candy, heartbreaking, and reaffirming, usually unexpectedly. Each single character is totally relatable however wholly distinctive and particular. Every line of dialogue or piece of data appears random but additionally completely correct and purposeful. Then, on prime of all that, Jeunet weaves in moments of fantasy enriching the world even additional. Work transfer, bedside figures converse, and folks soften into the ground, all including a degree of surprise to the already gorgeous world. You merely can’t watch Amélie and never really feel implausible. It captures so many hyper-specific however ultra-relatable slices of life whereas additionally constructing a world filled with magic and surprise.

These emotions coursed by way of me for your complete rewatched. I grinned, I laughed, I usually wiped away tears as moments I really like and quoted rising up flickered by. Then, in the long run, when Jeunet actually amps issues up, I turned a blubbering mess. Most of that was as a result of the film does such a implausible job of creating you like everybody and the whole lot occurring on display screen in methods 99% of different films would by no means dream of. However a small half was additionally only a reflection of the world right now in comparison with nearly 25 years in the past. Issues are at all times tousled. Individuals are at all times unhappy. However watching a film this pleased, this optimistic, this obsessive about the great thing about life made me take into consideration the nice issues in my life greater than I normally do, and that was a present.

Life is tough, however it may be fairly stunning too. And that’s particularly the case for those who use a few of it to observe Amélie. It’s an ideal film. A celebration of all that’s potential and good on the earth informed in a means you’ve by no means seen earlier than and will by no means see once more. I liked it earlier than however, rewatching it once more, I find it irresistible greater than I even remembered.

The brand new Amélie steelbook is obtainable right here.

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