Amélie

Storyline

Directed with boundless visual whimsy, warm nostalgic lyricism, and eccentric genius by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, 2001) is universally celebrated as one of the most beloved, enchanting, and internationally successful French films in motion picture history, grossing over $174 million worldwide and earning five Academy Award nominations including Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film. Set in a hyper-stylized, romanticized Parisian village of Montmartre saturated in warm sepia, emerald greens, and vibrant reds, the narrative follows Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou in an immortal, career-defining performance of wide-eyed innocence, mischievous charm, and radiant soul), an imaginative, introverted young waitress working at the Two Windmills café. Having endured an isolated childhood with an eccentric, emotionally distant father following her mother's tragic demise, Amélie retreats into a rich interior world of simple pleasures: cracking crème brûlée with a teaspoon, skipping stones on the Canal Saint-Martin, and observing Parisian eccentrics. On the night Princess Diana dies in August 1997, Amélie discovers a secret tin box of childhood memorabilia hidden behind her bathroom wall forty years earlier. Tracking down the now-elderly owner and witnessing his overwhelming, tearful joy upon its return, Amélie adopts a secret vocation: executing elaborate, anonymous acts of kindness to transform the lives of lonely neighbors, shopkeepers, and a reclusive painter with brittle bones. However, when she becomes captivated by Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), an eccentric collector of discarded photo-booth snapshots, Amélie must summon the courage to confront her own fear of vulnerability and pursue her own happiness. Scored by Yann Tiersen's accordion and piano melodies, Amélie is a timeless celebration of human empathy.