Amélie is a surreal romantic fantasy from the great French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Upon seeing previews for this movie almost eight years ago, I most certainly had no interest in it, as I was not a fan of fantasy. Watching the inanimate objects in Amelie’s bedroom come to life made me roll my eyes, and the whole premise seemed too precious. This was before such fantastical TV shows such as Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies won me over in later years.
Eventually I gave in following its unanimous good reviews, and I easily fell under its spell. What a really funny, charming, intriguing, romantic, and uplifting story! Innovatively directed too; a particular fateful-turn-of-events Parisian scene in the recent Benjamin Button movie is lifted almost directly from Amélie. I’d certainly never seen anything quite like it before, and immediately wanted to go back and see it again.
I ended up seeing Amélie six times at the neighborhood Baxter Filmworks cinema, then again when it made its way to the discount theater. And again on DVD, but just once, because a movie with such special art direction, cinematography, and sound design loses a lot on video. It should fare much better when it comes out on high def.
Anyway, it didn’t take long for Amélie to become my official Favorite Movie Ever, or at least that’s how I felt about it seven years ago. As with many things over the years, I found myself getting worked up into an obsession over this movie. The high point came during my March, 2002, return trip to London, when I made myself journey to Paris for a day, visiting all the real locations used in filming this movie, capturing them in snapshots and on a new camcorder. I’m telling you, I was really nuts about Amélie!
One week after that trip to Paris in search of Amélie, I met my future wife, an actual real-life female, and my obsession dwindled away...
Last night, Baxter Filmworks brought back Amélie for a Valentine’s Day edition of their excellent Midnights at the Baxter series. Hundreds showed up to see it, forcing the multiplex to open a second screen to handle the overflow. I was quite pleased to see that this has become such a beloved movie, at least locally.
I don't know if Amélie is my Favorite Movie Ever anymore, but it still appears first in an alphabetically ordered list of my top ten. Two weeks from now at midnight, Baxter is playing the second movie on that list: The Blues Brothers. I can't wait!
Eventually I gave in following its unanimous good reviews, and I easily fell under its spell. What a really funny, charming, intriguing, romantic, and uplifting story! Innovatively directed too; a particular fateful-turn-of-events Parisian scene in the recent Benjamin Button movie is lifted almost directly from Amélie. I’d certainly never seen anything quite like it before, and immediately wanted to go back and see it again.
I ended up seeing Amélie six times at the neighborhood Baxter Filmworks cinema, then again when it made its way to the discount theater. And again on DVD, but just once, because a movie with such special art direction, cinematography, and sound design loses a lot on video. It should fare much better when it comes out on high def.
Anyway, it didn’t take long for Amélie to become my official Favorite Movie Ever, or at least that’s how I felt about it seven years ago. As with many things over the years, I found myself getting worked up into an obsession over this movie. The high point came during my March, 2002, return trip to London, when I made myself journey to Paris for a day, visiting all the real locations used in filming this movie, capturing them in snapshots and on a new camcorder. I’m telling you, I was really nuts about Amélie!
One week after that trip to Paris in search of Amélie, I met my future wife, an actual real-life female, and my obsession dwindled away...
Last night, Baxter Filmworks brought back Amélie for a Valentine’s Day edition of their excellent Midnights at the Baxter series. Hundreds showed up to see it, forcing the multiplex to open a second screen to handle the overflow. I was quite pleased to see that this has become such a beloved movie, at least locally.
I don't know if Amélie is my Favorite Movie Ever anymore, but it still appears first in an alphabetically ordered list of my top ten. Two weeks from now at midnight, Baxter is playing the second movie on that list: The Blues Brothers. I can't wait!
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