Amelie!

Out of the two films that we were to watch Amelie was much easier for my brain to follow.  A well known fact about me is the inability for people to follow my thought patterns when speaking. I often get stares and then I have to go back and let them known how I got from point A to point Z. Maybe I should take notes from Leonard.  I have had to testify in front of Legislation, speak in front of governors, classrooms, board meetings, and public events but not with ease mind you.  It isn't the lack of confidence or that I am shy as Amelie, but my thought patterns are highly unusual and their relationships are difficult to follow. It is sometimes much easier to write especially when I am passionate about a subject because I can organize my thoughts much better and with more understanding. 

The beginning of the film reminded me of a day in my mind.  The playfulness of the movie is what was so charming and kept interest in the movie.  There is a universal theme and story and it is the appeal that has awarded this film internationally. The characters were incredibly real and you couldn't help but feel the emotions along with them and love them.

Now pertaining to the reading in the text... the lighting, cinematography, editing, color, design, and scenery.  This film was tinted.  This is a technique that the director wanted to use to help bring the world of Amelie out.  The colors were primary and worked well with the story.  The brilliant blue that was singular in most of the shots was very notable.  The blue car, blue vase were just a couple.  There were the black and white television shows used throughout the film which provided a different plane.  If you watch there are several different planes in scenes of the film that draw your attention. 

The scenery was intentionally cleaned up by the director. The streets of Paris are not as in the movie, but watching it made me want to go online to purchase a ticket to France.  He stated in an interview that he wanted to give the Paris feel.  The design team that made Amelie so unique and beautiful in her dress and hair to the elements all around Amelie and the characters in every part of the film from the apartment, the market, the train station all so detailed and modern.  There is a texture and feel to the film brought out by the color, scenery and design. 

The cinematography incorporated animation and and other special effects.  I wish I had had an art or an art history class.  There is so much incorporated in this film that I am really not aware of exactly what it is other than I know that there is an influence that needs researching.  The camera angles used included close-ups, wide angle, below the eye (the motorcycle ride) and there was definite arrangement of people and objects in this film. 

Another element to this film that wasn't in our reading but was in both Amelie and Memento was the voice overs used by the narrator in Amelie and Leonard's inner thoughts.  It enhanced the film in Amelie even though it was in French.  I love foreign films and subtitles.  Somehow I think I will learn the accent or learn the language, but so far I have not developed the art of dialect. 

This is a movie that I watch when I want to feel good and get creative... a prankster at heart!