Ameliè : A Poem Disguised as a Movie
“ I like to look for things no one else watches.” Amelie tells us.
This is not a review but an "experience" of the movie Amelie. Amelie is one of those rare masterpieces of cinema that justifies the existence of cinema as an Art.
"On September 3rd 1973, at 6:28 pm and 32 seconds, a bluebottle fly capable of 14,670 wing beats a minute landed on Rue St Vincent Montmartre. At the same moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth.....At the same moment, a sperm with one X chromosome, belonging to Raphael Poulain made a dash for an egg in his wife Amandine. Nine months later, Amelie Poulain was born." Thus begins the movie Amelie or The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain (the French title). It is poetry disguised as cinema. And not just these opening lines; the entire movie.
There are a few spoilers *Spoiler Alert* ahead, but truly speaking, you cannot spoil a movie like Amelie, for it is an experience and not simply a product of cameras and lights. Even if I am to go into great pain to describe ' The Starry Night' by Van Gogh or 'Luncheon of the boating party' by Renoir (which plays an important role in the movie), its not like you have seen the painting. Amelie rises to that level.
The side glance shot, perhaps, will always henceforth be associated with the actress Audrey Tautou. She elevates that simple cinematic technique into an art form. It is lavishly and generously spread throughout the movie much like a rich conservative Indian household's kitchen would use saffron - exotic and generous.
The camera captures Amelie's facial expressions on close shots- that impish grin you have seen in the posters, the sadness of waiting for Nino, her disapproval of the vegetable vendor mistreating his slow witted help. The expressions are not a scowl or wink or a grimace. That would be too loud for a movie like Amelie, more importantly a girl like Amelie. They are simply a twitching of muscles of her cheek, a narrowing of her eyes, downcast reproving eyes, slight parting of lips and the effect is achieved. She manages to look both radiant and doleful with those large eyes and the pixie look. Amelie is shy, too painfully shy, and Audrey is the perfect casting choice. If it was any other movie, they would have shown that particular moment when Amelie meets Nino, in slo-mo, heart beat rising, notebooks falling from hand and any number of techniques the cinema has given us. Amelie simply stops, looks at Nino, we know she is nervous (That expressive face!) and she walks away. And we the audience know that a change is going to come in the fabulous destiny of Amelie Poulain.
Another important character in the movie is the streets of Paris. Interestingly, the movie was not shot in the studio, but in the actual city of Paris. Most of the movie ,other than the little girl Amelie, takes place in 1997. The production team actually worked on the streets and walls giving it a magical look. The café actually exists, and one would find tourists in Paris clicking pics of the cafe. The same cannot be said of the Paris shown in the movie.
Chapter one of the movie, shows Amelie's childhood. Amelie, like all little girls longs for love from her parents especially her Dad, in the absence of which she retreats into her highly fertile imagination. A camera and a suicidal fish, Blubber, kept in a little bowl are her other friends. Years later, the young Amelie Poulain works as a waitress in a cafe in Paris. Her life changes dramatically on the 30th of August, 1997- the day Diana died (Yes, that plays a pivotal role in the story)- when she discovers a little treasure box containing cards and toys hidden by a young boy decades ago in the very apartment, Amelie now lives. Amelie's world is populated by ordinary and strange characters whose lives Amelie tries to fill with cheer and happiness through her elaborate stratagems. This includes the mean vegetable grocer (not always with cheer)and his slow witted assistant, her hypochondriac colleague, the spurned lover of a co-waitress, the reclusive painter, the concierge whose husband cheated on her with his secretary, the reclusive painter next door. The reclusive painter and Amelie discuss at length about a particular character in Renoir's 'Luncheon on the boating party' which he is recreating. He simply cannot understand one particular woman in the painting, whose face is partly hidden by a glass. Why is she different from the others?
The movie is filled with colors of green, red and yellow. The music by Yann Tiersson is the heartbeat of the movie. If one wants to understand the importance of background score, look no further. The Cannes organising party gave a miss to Amelie which created a controversy among fans and critics alike. Why? They had seen the unfinished version - a working print- of the movie that did not have the music score. Amelie is a movie that creates a fluffy world of wistfulness. If I had to rate it in five star system, I would give it the Moon.
Love and Peace
~Tarun
