I love this movie so much that I went to Paris and visited some of the film locations. I've been in the Deux Moulins bar (they have a little Amelie exhibition in the toilets, LOL) Amazing film.
I did the same thing! I fell in love with the place and even planned to go back there one day to film a short film, got all the contacts for that... but it never happened! 😢
@@millthor Oh what a shame the project fell through. I'd have loved to have seen it. I did something like that in Oxford because i'm also a big fan of the detective series Inspector Morse, which was filmed in and around Oxford in the late 80's early 90's. I made a series of videos about it which I had on my channel but I eventually had to take them down because I used music from the series in them and that was all copyrighted of course.
I'm glad you mentioned it. I have listened to a good deal of Tiersen's discography, and Amelie's soundtrack is very representative of his musical style in general, with this nostalgic tone, its reliance on "ritournelles", a French word for easily remembered repetitive patterns akin to minimalism, but not as much repetitive as Philip Glass's style, for instance. One might say that Tiersen is not particularly original and tends to go back to successful recipes, and that would be a statement quite close to reality. He tends to re-use musical recipes a lot, and indeed, if you like Amelie's soundtrack, you'll love pretty much all of Tiersen's music. It doesn't mean it's without merit: it says a lot about how success for a musician in today's context is hard to achieve, especially one in the range of royalties Amelie's score has brought to its composer. It is such a lovely one, so intimate and heart-warming, that it makes it even addictive.
Yes it's hard to make a movie with such a sweet and life assuring message without being cheesy. The cinematography has a lot in common with that of movies such as Delicatessen and Wes Anderson movies, including a doll house aesthetic and the ubiquitous short focal lengths - and I love exactly that. These are movies made by people with passion and a sense for the magic and beauty of the movies. Great choice and great video as always!
@@laurenthenry yes of course. I should have added that information, to make it clear. The image of Delicatessen just popped up in my head for it's extensive use of wide angle lenses and a theater stage/doll house aesthetic (at least to a large part). I might as well have added Brazil (Terry Gilliam), which uses a super wide angle (and a poor quality one for that matter) in some iconic shots.
Have you seen this short film by Jeunet which can be seen as a study for Amelie. It even features some of the actors he used in Amelie. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AspmmjBl1LU.html
This movie is such an amazing piece of art, from the writing to lighting to music to acting to sound design - I love it and will always be open to watch it again and again
Amazing vid! I would watch a 2 hour analysis about Amélie in an instant! Now there are 2 scenes that really hit home with me in this piece of art: 1. The beginning. Rarely have I seen a movie that manages to draw you in from the very get-go like this one. After a couple lines, I knew this would be a masterpiece. 2. The scene where Amélie helps the blind man across the road... and his reaction to it... Just wow. Can't help but getting teary-eyed every time I watch it. Easily one the most beautiful, most humane, most touching scenes in the history of cinema. And the toy box subterfuge she pulls? The enigma of the garden gnome and its resolution? The enigma of the torn pictures and its resolution? The treasure hunt she comes up with to lead Nino to her? The way she gaslights the shop owner? Her friendship with Raymond and the running horse tape? I could go on and on. This movie had no right being *that* good. 10/10
Mate if you ever come to Paris I'll get you a pair of green tinted glasses and take you around the city, some neigborhoods still have that "60's old Paris vibe". Cheers from France for all the great videos!
I've watched this movie only once and many years ago. This video is so immersed on its details that I want to watch Amelie again asap! The thing you brought that I loved is the fact the camera is always moving, it brings us close to the action just as we would walk toward someone to see what they are doing. Great video man!
I knew this movie would be gold upon seeing the trailer. Because all the elements you explain were already present in that one, and on top of it, the love with which is was made shone through!
Thanks for sharing this study. Very interesting how they pulled off all the camera movement with such precision focus; often with the subject static in one plane. Getting actors to hit a mark is a challenge. I've not seen this film, but will soon.
One of my all time favourite movie. when i feel low or stress in my life i go and watch this movie. t's really a pleasant and good feel after watching this movie. and the Yann Tiersren's BGM is amazing. MUST WATCH.
It's also worth noting that Amelie borrowed quite a bit from Wang Kar Wai... Two obvious "similarities" are the naught breaking-in re-arranging things (Chungking Express) and the final jump-cut motorcycle scene (Fallen Angels).
@@GabrielNicho Is that likely? Definitely yes to me, otherwise I wouldn't have posted it. Can I prove it? Of course not. But your logic is weird. Sure, Chungking Express was not a big movie to the general public, but it is certainly big enough for cinephiles. Since Jean-Pierre Jeunet is in the trade, I would bet he watched it. As for breaking-in and re-arranging as an "old trope", then please quote a few movies that employed that old prank. Best.
@@stex5026 Well, I find it unlikely that he watched it. It was a very obscure Hong Kong movie. But you wanted examples, take the Home Alone series as an example, boy defending his home using "pranks", in the 2nd movie he breaks into someone elses home and sets the traps there, using doorknobs and other things just like in Amelie, the only difference is that Home Alone 2 is more violent. But this sort of thing goes way back. There are tons of movies like this. I watched one movie as kid that was done in the 60s, but can no longer remember the name. Pranks have been in movies as long as movies has been made.
@@stex5026 I can give you other examples if you want to. I just recently watched Revenge of the Nerds (wanted to see what the ruckus was about), in that movie they break in do pranks in the jocks dorms, like putting something that will burn in their jockstraps (can't remember what it's called), and other things. I can give examples all day. That movie is from 1984, Home Alone 2 is from 1992, point is still.....it's an old trope.
0:31 Wow, what a beautiful set, I never understood why this film was even relevant, cause I never watched it, but now I know, it's like a complex motion painting full of artistic layers of cinematography, so beautiful.
I just finished watching it. I'd seen it long ago, but your video convinced me to look at it again. I agree - it is a good movie. There were some bizarre characters but, as you said, excellent story. I normally don't like movies with crazy grading, but it all looked good. Thanks!
@@blifx brise /brēˈzā/ noun Ballet noun: brisé; plural noun: brisés a jump in which the dancer sweeps one leg into the air to the side while jumping off the other, brings both legs together in the air and beats them before landing. Do you pronounce your spelling brēˈzā? That would be bizarre under the surface, in a cracked sort of way.
I’ve always seen images from this movie never knowing its name or bothering to look it up. But after this, I will for sure be watching. Been doing research and planning during pre-production of my short film and found this. Thanks!
I remember my French teacher in highschool playing this when I was 11 or so like a decade ago and I was just so enraptured, and I kinda noticed the whole class was. It was so, odd because usually movie time was homework catch up, or time to just text and talk, and I was no exception even playing games on my DS I snuck in or MTG if next to a friend who played. Everyone was glued to it, and after we didn't know what to make of it. It was such a strange film, but I still don't know how everyone was so engrossed in its whimsy.
One of my favorite Films of All-Time. But, where we already at Mathieu Kassovitz, you missed mentioning his sophomore masterpiece LA HAINE. You should put it on your list, also...a pure work of art...
I love this movie for all the reasons given in the video, but the red-green color scheme is lost on me: I am red-green color blind. However, the few things in the film that are blue really do pop out! Perhaps filmmakers could keep in mind that 8% of males have some form of color blindness (we get it from our mothers), most often deficiencies in red or green color vision.
❤ Amélie ❤ Just a wonderful film. Audrey Tautou performed her best in this movie. This is my favorite movie since I first viewed it. I was beginning to take French classes several years ago, and our class viewed several French films. Amélie was one of them. My teacher loves the director. I'm so glad this movie won the Academy Award for cinematography. The camera work was fantastic.
You forgot to mention that The Double Life of Véronique was a huge influence on this film, and I mean a HUGE influence. Especially that green hue and the landscape-heavy cinematography.
I'm glad this film was made just before Ai and special effects became so ubiquitous and cheap. Every shot in this movie could be made as a print and framed as a beautiful piece of art in its own right. It was made as an up to date era movie but the colours and filters gave it the feel of a very romantic era and very wistful throughout. How I fell in love with her character and the antics she gets up to especially with those of them who are cruel to others like the market stall owner and his vile attitude to his worker who has a disability. I loved the old toy box treasure she finds and meeting the now grown man. There are cliché that work perfectly in fact the entire movie is a rare perfection that just never happens.
Grading, production design, setting in Paris, main protagonist look and part of the narrayive is taken from THE DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQE by Krzysztof Kieślowski ;) many things are orginal and Amelie is great, its intresting to compare those two.
I fell instantly in love with Amelie and it shot straight to the top of my all time favourite films list. Then I moved to the other side of the world and met my own Amelie. She changed my world in the same way and we shared many a cinematic moment. I wish I had been on top of my demons enough to have been as good for her as she was for me. Sadly, life took a number of sharp and terrible turns and we were wrenched apart. It still breaks my heart but this ultimately, I believe, placed her on a better path. I think of her often and though painful, I do not feel regret like I did for years. The magic doesn’t always last as a day-to-day reality. But if you remember the magic with gratitude, you can shape your own form of forever which, just maybe, is the very point of the magic in the first place.
Spherical means the lenses do not squash the image from the sides like anamorphic lenses do. This affects, among other things, the depth of field and Bokeh.
They are not stealing from the film. Its inspiring them to make new productions. They just use it as an inspiration to create new ideas for new film projects. Its a bit like with Inception and other films. Thanks for the video.
Good film and I'm glad to see how many love it in the comments. I probably prefer a very long engagement.. I was struck when I saw it that 2 sub-plots, the photo booth repairman and the travelling gnome, I'd seen before, This stood out in such an otherwise original work.
This film is in my top three, it's position varies depending on my mood. Initially I loved the film, when I later started studying colour theory I began to appreciate its genius.
I was very disappointed he didn’t show any examples, just recapped why he thinks the film is great. The title should be “reasons why Amelie is great”. The only film I can think of that “copies” from it is Shape of Water. But Amelie copied The Double Life of Veronique and Chungking Express, so there’s a bit or karma in that.
Wes Anderson has captured this type of film, I'm happy I've watched grand Budapest hotel then Amélie in order, possibly the best that happened to me in watching films.
If you love this movie, as the Best JPJ french fan, i must recommand you to watch "CITY OF LOST CHILDREN", from same director. 2 Years before Alien 4 ans to me, the Best he made
I'm with you, but a question... the "green tinting" of films that we see seems to predate Amélie by a few years with The Matrix, and also (IIRC) Fight Club--I'm sure there's others as well. So in this case, did Amélie demonstrate that the overall green-tint idea could work beyond gritty films, did it cement the trend, or was it somehow different from the films that came before it? Where and how does it fit into the era of "green cinema"?
Matrix didn't have the green tint until the 2 sequels. The original theatrical was very blue (both in the real world and in the matrix) - Fight Club as well I wouldn't consider a green film, and similar it's draped in blue scenes 1999 really was the year of the blue tint. Green really took hold after Ameilie.
The look of the film (as well as several plot points) is heavily influenced by The Double Life of Veronique, released 10 years before. And to a lesser extent, by the second half of Chungking Express a few years before.
According to the cinematographer, the green-red tinting was inspired by the Brazilian artist Juarez Machado, as said in the video. Nothing to do with previous movies.
Maybe i'm going too far with this comment, but I feel you only scratched the surface in your analysis. All the things you mentioned can turn any story into a great movie. But this is not a great movie, this is a masterpiece. In fact, Amélie is not a movie, it is not a romantic comedy, Amélie is Neuro Linguistic Programming: Every detail in this movie, from the visual style, the music, to the way the characters are presented and the things they do, is masterly designed to put you in a trance. Jeunet knows how to make you feel like a child again, back when you were free from all the constrictions of the adult world, free from the fears and insecurities that shaped your mind over the years, in a place where everything's still possible. Once you are in that position, you're ready to be reprogrammed. And the programming, the message to burn in your brain is simple: We all suffer. Be good to others and try to make them feel good. If you do that you will feel better, and you will invite others to do the same for you. First time i watched this movie, 20 years ago, i felt i was high (literally), and i wasn't under the influence of drugs (at least in that exact moment). No other movie in my life have had such profound effect on me. That is the power of Cinema, and that's why i think that many filmmakers steal from Amélie
Got yourself a new sub! I don't even know what you'll say about the movie yet, but it just so turns out that Amélie is my favorite movie of all time, so I have to like your taste already. Is it just me or Amélie does not get the respect it deserves? Rarely do I see it being discussed, let alone praised. Keep it up! Now on to the video :)
It’s a bit too pastiche and cutesy for me. Beautiful yes, artistic definitely, but also not very deep, funny, or original in the narrative. I love Jeunets formal experimentation, and I wish his style was used for something more sophisticated. I guess it’s too calculated for me.
