Sunday, February 3, 2013

Movie of the Month - February - Amelie

By s. Sunday, February 3, 2013 , ,

It's better to help people than garden gnomes

What better film to chose for the movie of the month of love? There are few films out there that fill your heart with happiness and Amelie is one of such rare gems. The story of a sweet, lonely girl who decides to bring joy to others and in the process of that finds love is extremely inspiring and heartwarming. If every single one of us was a little bit like Amelie, I'm convinced the world would be a better place.

The part of Amélie was written specifically for Emily Watson. She wanted the part but had to decline because she didn't speak French and had already agreed to be in Gosford Park. Now it's really hard to imagine someone but Audrey Tautou in the main part - her big doe eyes, her whimsical hair cut and her innocent face are the perfect fit for the naive Amelie.

This is one of the most romantic films I have ever seen. With the exception of a brief phone call where Amelie gives information to Nino, the two leads do not exchange a single word during the entire film. This is the power of the movie - you can see their love, you can feel it, because it's all built on small gestures and on this lovely kind of magic. One of my favorite moments in the movie is when Nino asks the photo about Amelie and they respond he knew her all his life - in his dreams.

Review of the film - HERE

PREVIOUS MOVIES OF THE MONTH:

20 comments:

  1. Excellent choice. I truly love this film, and most everyone I know who has seen it feels the same.

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    1. Thanks! It really is a very special and unique film.

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  2. Great pick! Amelie is one of my favourite films of all time!

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    1. Same here! It's been in my top 20 ever since I saw it for the first time.

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  3. My favorite Jeunet film. It's truly something that when I first saw it, I immediately fell in love with.

    I'm doing piece on Jeunet this month for my Auteurs series as that film will be the big piece of that series.

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    1. It really is one of those movies that one can fall in love with, right?

      Awesome, I'll definitely check it out!

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  4. Great pick for February... the romantic month :) LOVE Amelie, sooo beautiful, quirky and enchanting. I like Emily Watson but I can't picture anyone else besides Audrey Tautou in this role after seeing the film.

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    1. Yeah, she really made this role her own! It's such a cheerful movie, I still cannot believe it didn't got more Oscar love.

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  5. Nice! I loved Amelie, I've been wanting to rewatch it but haven't gotten around to it yet. Like all the things you mentioned, the movie have its own charm. The atmosphere and Amelie itself. It's hard to imagine if Emily Watson did take the role.

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    1. Glad you love the movie too! Yeah it's hard to imagine, especially since the role was apparently written for her. Audrey did such an amazing job here.

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  6. Superb choice! Absolutely love this film. I always found it odd that it was written for Emily Watson if she doesn't speak French, as I presume it was always going to be a French language film. So glad Ms Tautou took the role though.

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    1. I think Jeunet loved Emily so much he assumed she will be able to learn the lines, but French is pretty hard so I'm not surprised she declined :)

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  7. What a beautiful post! I love this movie too.

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  8. Awesome choice! Love this film! :)

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    1. Awesome to see so many Amelie fans here! :)

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  9. This was one of the films that changed everything for me. I loved every beautiful second if it. So clever and so charming it makes you feel better about everything.

    Tautou is irresistibly adorable, too.

    The part about her heart condition always made me smile.

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    1. It is such a charming movie, isn't it? Always makes me feel happier.

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  10. Great choice of movie for february, and coming from France, it means a lot to me ;)

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    1. I love Amelie so much, I wanted to feature it for quite some time :)

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