bnorthup
02-04-2002, 11:46 PM
Amelie (R)
At the Myrna Loy
4 stars
The Joy of Meddling
By Brent Northup
A French Web site notes that “Amelie” is the latest French movie to take the world by storm. Another French site talks of the Amelie “do” (described as modified bobbed hair) that is now being requested in beauty salons across France.
We’ve been lucky enough to have “Amelie” in town for two weeks in Helena, with a third ahead. Obviously, the locals are responding. (Attention, Carmike: Montanans will attend a movie without Bruce Willis above the title.)
“Amelie” is being praised for its bubbly optimism, a true but shallow assessment. The Audrey-Hepburn-lookalike star, Audrey Tautou, says she accepted the leading role, in part, because of the sweet optimistic story. And also, she says, because “it’s a movie people haven’t seen before.” True enough.
“Amelie” tells the tale of s shy waitress who, despite being very attractive, lives a lonely, unfulfilled life. She finds meaning by, in essence, becoming a secret angel to other lonely people. She plays matchmaker and unites a fussy co-worker with an oddball customer, a project that ends with happy screams from a storeroom.
Amelie selects, seemingly at random, people whose life she might be able to change for the better. Then she sets out to orchestrate very intricate plots to add joy to their lives, without showing her wings. She returns lost books, for example, and also hires a flight attendant to send pictures from around the world to her father, who dreams of traveling.
Her angelic mission takes a twist when she decides to help a mentally limited young man escape from his cruel employer. She sneaks into the employer’s home and sets up a series of surprises – including sugar in the wine, door handles on backwards, clocks set wrong and some shocking wiring that sends jolts through the jerk. She even re-programs his phone so that the next time he quick dials “Mom” he reaches a psychiatric hotline.
One thing that Amelie does not do is to develop a plan for her own happiness. And that’s the deeper theme inside this film. She is clearly running away from her own emptiness by staying focused on eccentric plans to help eccentric people. Fortunately, an elderly artist who lives in her apartment building recognizes this, and develops an “Amelie-esque” scheme to bring happiness to Amelie.
The tale is all quite touching. Amelie’s investment in bringing joy to people judged as misfits by the rest of society is heartwarming. She doesn’t care if he works in a video porn store or spends off hours searching under photo booths for discarded pictures. Everyone deserve happiness, she reasons.
Her angelic meddling is tolerable, in this case, because it works and because she’s cute and adorable. But it’s clear that such unsolicited interference could just as easily backfire. We all realize she needs to make her own happiness the next project, and we are relieved that someone in her life recognizes that as well.
This French film, with subtitles, is a French comedy with a heart – and most definitely worth a visit to the Myrna Loy.
END
At the Myrna Loy
4 stars
The Joy of Meddling
By Brent Northup
A French Web site notes that “Amelie” is the latest French movie to take the world by storm. Another French site talks of the Amelie “do” (described as modified bobbed hair) that is now being requested in beauty salons across France.
We’ve been lucky enough to have “Amelie” in town for two weeks in Helena, with a third ahead. Obviously, the locals are responding. (Attention, Carmike: Montanans will attend a movie without Bruce Willis above the title.)
“Amelie” is being praised for its bubbly optimism, a true but shallow assessment. The Audrey-Hepburn-lookalike star, Audrey Tautou, says she accepted the leading role, in part, because of the sweet optimistic story. And also, she says, because “it’s a movie people haven’t seen before.” True enough.
“Amelie” tells the tale of s shy waitress who, despite being very attractive, lives a lonely, unfulfilled life. She finds meaning by, in essence, becoming a secret angel to other lonely people. She plays matchmaker and unites a fussy co-worker with an oddball customer, a project that ends with happy screams from a storeroom.
Amelie selects, seemingly at random, people whose life she might be able to change for the better. Then she sets out to orchestrate very intricate plots to add joy to their lives, without showing her wings. She returns lost books, for example, and also hires a flight attendant to send pictures from around the world to her father, who dreams of traveling.
Her angelic mission takes a twist when she decides to help a mentally limited young man escape from his cruel employer. She sneaks into the employer’s home and sets up a series of surprises – including sugar in the wine, door handles on backwards, clocks set wrong and some shocking wiring that sends jolts through the jerk. She even re-programs his phone so that the next time he quick dials “Mom” he reaches a psychiatric hotline.
One thing that Amelie does not do is to develop a plan for her own happiness. And that’s the deeper theme inside this film. She is clearly running away from her own emptiness by staying focused on eccentric plans to help eccentric people. Fortunately, an elderly artist who lives in her apartment building recognizes this, and develops an “Amelie-esque” scheme to bring happiness to Amelie.
The tale is all quite touching. Amelie’s investment in bringing joy to people judged as misfits by the rest of society is heartwarming. She doesn’t care if he works in a video porn store or spends off hours searching under photo booths for discarded pictures. Everyone deserve happiness, she reasons.
Her angelic meddling is tolerable, in this case, because it works and because she’s cute and adorable. But it’s clear that such unsolicited interference could just as easily backfire. We all realize she needs to make her own happiness the next project, and we are relieved that someone in her life recognizes that as well.
This French film, with subtitles, is a French comedy with a heart – and most definitely worth a visit to the Myrna Loy.
END