Amelie (le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain) (2001) With Trailer

Could there been a better time to review a classic than it's ten year anniversary?

 Released only a decade ago Amelie has firmly established itself as a timeless classic. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's best film so far (his latter films are a bit of a disappointment but check out his earlier works "Delicatessen" and "The City Of Lost Children"), here he is allowed full rein over his expressionistic ideas and visions, brought to live by a simplistic and charming story of a young girl with an imaginative and inventive mind growing up with little or no friends where all she has for company is her fantastical views on people and her unique look on life.

The story starts with a narrator regaling little facts about bluebottle flies  before moving onto the main character and her family. Divulging further titbits in an entertaining and statistical manner over her families likes, dislikes and idiosyncrasy (not just about Amelie but every character the camera comes across, we get a little story on obsessive compulsive behaviours ranging from bubble wrap popping to bone cracking). As we follow Amelie on her fabulous journey (the English literal translation is The Fabulous Life of Amelie Poulain!) one event which affects our heroine is the death of Lady Diana. With the news playing in the background Amelie drops a lid, that rolls towards a tile, which happens to be loose and it's there she finds someones hidden childhood memories. That night she decides to track down it's owner, return it to him and if they are grateful she'll continue to do further good deeds. From there on the film goes off on an extraordinary and incredible adventure where she becomes a match maker, a tour guide, a deceased lover and a woman looking for love amongst others.

It's a film that is so beautifully shot with outstanding colourisation and a marvelous use of warm soft Earthy tones of greens, reds and yellows. Paris has never looked so autumnal. The complementary colours of the greens and reds brings out the vibrancy and warmth which gives the film more heart and feeling. It's a quality the film never veers away from and as a failed artist it's not too hard to spot the beauty and artistry of the cinematography. Along with the beautiful music by Yann Tiersen, they combine to add an elegance and haunting beauty to what is already a feast for the eyes let alone the ears.

The breakout performance from Audrey Tautou as Amelie who in nature appears child like and innocence enables her to tug on viewers heartstrings at all the right places. A spot-on capture of someone who is positive and has their heart in the right place though has a sly wicked streak for those who deserve punishment (a comical moment in the film where she teaches a market vendor a lesson or two in humbleness and humility). With a uniformly strong supporting cast (keep your eyes out for Jeunets regulars Dominique Pinon and Rufus) the story ticks along with each characters little foibles creating a world where perfection is not the norm and everyone has their own little obsessive behaviours whether they know it or not. 

Cynics of you may not buy into its charms or understand Amelie's take on the world and life. The mixture of fantasy, dreams and reality may not be everyone's taste but it's undeniably wonderful and captures the human spirit and it's faults to a tee. It's an escape from reality and that is what cinema is all about. You don't go to see the mundane and the drab (though in this film even the mundane and the drab are given beauty and purpose). Here, the joys and euphoria come at you in equal measure and one persons act of kindness is surely something that's not too hard to imagine.

This is dedicated to my wife, my very own Amelie as this is one of her favourite films, and like Amelie she has a heart of gold and would do anything and everything for anyone.

Acting 4.5/5

Technical Merit 4.5/5

Narrative 4.5/5

Entertainment 5/5

18.5/20

Chungking Express (1994) with Trailer

If you only get to watch one Wong Kar Wai film make it this one, It's the most accessible and enjoyable film he has made in my opinion. Wong Kar Wai is known for starting a film without a planned script and this film follows suit. This is all about obsessions and mourning over lost love. The narrative is split in two and the link between them is very tenuous (there is the obvious connection of them being two cops and that they eat at the same take out joint) but both stories do share the common theme of what a break up can do to a man and how a minor connection from strangers can overcome and heal ones heartache.

The first story introduces us to Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who is obsessively buying tins of pineapple with the expiration date May 1st to see if his love will re blossom or expire like the tins of pineapple. His own rational thinking involves the fact his birthday falls on the 1st of May so that will be the time to move on after mourning and pining after her for a whole month. When his birthday arrives he comes across a blonde wig wearing drug dealer on the run and he spots her in the bar. He tries his hardest to chat her up but she just wants to find somewhere safe to rest. Eventually they end up in a hotel together and she falls asleep and he wakes up alone the next morning, unbeknown to him he has helped her more than she could have hoped for.

With the second narrative, the transition occurs at the take out joint where both cops frequent and we are introduced to Faye (Faye Wong) the new waitress who notices the 2nd lovelorn cop, Cop 663 (played by Tony Leung) always coming in buying food and getting relationship advice from the owner. Unfortunately for him his relationship breaks down and he fails to notice the subtle advances made by the new waitress, so she sets out obsessively to try to get his attention and win him over by any means possible.

Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro)

I can't say how much I found this a breath of fresh air and an absolute joy to watch. Its very light and has a very dream like quality to the opening and the dazzling kaleidoscopic colours capturing the neon lights of the bustling Hong Kong streets incredibly well. Credit goes to the amazing cinematographer Christopher Doyle, he fleshes out such sumptuous vibrant colours from the locations. It's very aesthetically pleasing on the eye.

Cop 663 (Tony Leung) and Faye (FayeWong)

The dialogue is very much written the night before each scene and there is a poetic feel to the whole observational comments on love and the situations we can find ourselves in. The performances by both leads are commendable considering there isn't much to the script. Tony Leung is always watchable and there is always an intensity to him even when he has nothing to say, it's all in his eyes. He looks thoughtful and displays such emotion that even when he is just standing still in shot, he still out acts most actors.

People may find that it's a case of style over substance. The story is not the strongest part of this film and like I said before, Wong Kar Wai is known for starting a film without a completed script, but it's all the cinematic techniques which are on display which draws you in. The jump cut editing, the numerous pop cultural references, to the kinetic camera work and the repetitive use of Mama's and Papa's "California Dreaming" (you'll end up loving the song or it'll drive you insane, for me it was the former) all makes up for it's paper thin narrative with it's avant garde visual style. Very much a Hong Kong art house flick akin to the New Wave French films created by film makers like Jean Luc Goddard and Francois Truffaut.


It's a film that will excite many of those who are film-literate (or a moderate knowledge of the film language) but for many modern audiences, I feel, will be a little bit less engaged by the whole thing. For those willing to try something different visually and unconventional in terms of narrative, you can't go wrong with this expressive piece of work with a finale that is ambiguous and lets you paint your own conclusion as to what happens to it's characters.

18/20