"Amelie"

"Amelie" is the story of a young French woman's journey through life. In the film, she discovers courage, happiness, and even love. This quirky and hilarious film captured my heart within the first five minutes and will do so to anyone who watches it. Amelie is portrayed as such an innocent girl with a quiet but strong personality that viewers can't help to fall in love with. I can honestly say that "Amelie" has now become one of my favorite movies.

The character of Amelie is almost impossible to not connect with. Director Jean-Pierre represented the character of Amelie as a girl trying to find happiness in her life. She is always used to blending into the background and constantly placing others before herself. However, thoughout the film, she realizes that although helping other people is a very rewarding thing, she also needs to do what makes her happy.

The character of Amelie is explained through the representation of the girl with the glass of water in the glass man's painting. In the beginning of the film, he finds it impossible to get the girl with the glass just right. Later on, we understand that this character in the painting is Amelie. The girl with the glass doesn't seem to stand out enough in the painting, like she is lurking in the background, just like Amelie. I think the glass of water the character in the painting was holding represented what Amelie's heart would become if she didn't start paying attention to her needs. At the end of the film, you see the glass man working on the painting, and suddenly, the character stands out from the painting and is finally united with the rest of the world, as does Amelie at the end of the film.

"Amelie" uses many visual design effects within the film. The film begins with Amelie as a little girl. She is pictured performing random things such as eating raspberries, peeling glue off her fingers, and cutting figures out of paper. This explains to the viewer that Amelie enjoys the simple things in life as a child and also will as an adult through helping people. This is a point that says something about us as Americans. We as a country sometimes forget to enjoy the little things in life. We constantly want everything bigger and better and tend to overlook the things that really make people happy, even if it's as simple as skipping stones. This film should be a contsant reminder for us to slow down, take a deep breath, and enjoy life.

Setting is a very important factor in the film. It is used to create emotional atmosphere. Everyone knows that Paris is the city of love. The fact that the film is placed in Paris and is portrayed the way Paris actually looks in real life gives the viewer a whimsical feeling and faith that Amelie will find love. Setting is also used as a reflection of character. There is a scene in the movie after Amelie realizes that she needs to help her father. She goes to his house, the house where she grew up, and stands infront of her old home. The camera then begins to decend to the ground as it's filming Amelie standing infront of the house. This give the feeling that the house is looking down on Amelie, making her look inferior and overwhelmed by the house. This camera angle could be referencing the fact that Amelie had a tough childhood in this house or it could be getting at the fact that Amelie is beginning to feel overwhelmed with the urge to help people. Amelie's childhood house is the complete opposite of the apartment she lives in now. It has more of a warm, welcoming feel to it and is completely characteristic of Amelie herself. Everything in the apartment is red. This choice of color could indicate the passion she has discovered to help other people.

One of my favorite symbols in this film is the garden gnome. The gnome represents Amelie's father's dream to travel. The gnome was kept in the tool shed for most of Amelie's life because her mother hated it. However, it's also because her father had to put his dream of traveling aside because he could not leave his daughter alone because of her "heart defect." Her father finally takes the gnome out of the shed, representing that he is thinking about traveling again. However, he cements it to his wife's shrine indicating that he's not going anywhere. It's only when Amelie breaks the gnome off the shrine and sends it on a trip around the world that her father realizes it's time to make his dream of traveling a reality.

Costume is an element that is very effectively used throughout the film. It is no secret that the main colors in "Amelie" are red and green. One can tell that these colors were deliberatly chosen because of the fact that the two colors are opposite on the color wheel; red and green are the complimentary colors of one another. This means that when red is placed against green and vice-versa, the other color will stand out. This explaination is used flawlessly throughout the film. What I noticed in the film that the use of red was mainly used in the setting or surrounding. For example, Amelie's apartment, the movie theater seats, and the red shoes in the photobooth. Red is mainly used to represent the surroundings. Green is also sometimes used in the surroundings, but the color is mainly placed on Amelie through her clothes. These two colors work together throughout the movie to act as a harmonizing agent, when red is overwhelming in the environment, the color green is always there to tone it down. For example, when Amelie and Nino are in her apartment. All the surroundings are red, but Amelie is wearing a green sweater. This play on colors calms the scene down a little bit and helps Amelie stand out from the red, making her the focus of the scene.

Movement is contantly taking course throughout this film. It appears right at the beginning, when the mother and father are being introduced. The constant change of scenes keeps out eyes moving. This method is used throughout the film when introducing new characters into the plot. Movement is also used at the end of the film, where the chopping sensation of movement captures Amelie and Nino on the motorini. I think the director chose to display such great amounts of movement in this scene because he used the same amount when introducing new characters. This point makes me think that Jean-Pierre was trying to introduce new characters in this scene of Amelie and Nino as well, the new and improved, and finally happy, characters of Amelie and Nino.

Lighting and color is also used in this film. I think the most dominant example of this was Amelie in the movie theater. Her almost white complexion completely stood out from the dark background of the movie theater. This use of light and dark draws one hundred percent of the viewer's attention to Amelie. Another method that is used in the same movie theater scene is the use of panning. The focus goes from Amelie, who is the center of attention because of the use of light and dark, to the audience and the expressions on their faces. The camera moved its line of sight to include not just Amelie, but her and the hilarious expressions of the audience sitting behind her.

The obvious use of subtitles in the film may scare some people, however, I think the use of subtitles and the use of a different language only help the viewer experience the culture of this different country. I think that subtitles are sometimes necessary to let people know that there are other languages out there and that not every movie experience has to be viewed in English. It's a reminder for us that we aren't the only language that is out there and that we sometimes need to experience that different language or culture in order to understand it more deeply.

The Story of Amelie's life has completely captured my heart. I can relate to her in so many ways, and I am positive that I'm not the only one who feels that way. She is a constant reminder that the world sometimes needs to slow down and appreciate life for what it really is, beautiful.