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109 out of 122 people found the following comment useful:-
It's my favorite movie of all time..., 3 December 2002
Author:
Christoph Gietl from USA, Oklahoma
Short analysis on Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Le fabuleux destin d'Am�lie
Poulain
For 20 years Jean-Pierre Jeunet collected small astonishing and intriguing
moments in his life, taking notes in his diary, not knowing that he was up
to co-write and direct one of the most successful film in French film
history. Jean-Pierre Jeunet fell in love with the story and the film he
titled Le fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain. But it's popularity was even a
surprise to Jean-Pierre Jeunet himself as he once stated: `I guess I have
to
produce a film like Alien Resurrection (USA 1997) to make a movie like Le
fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain', obviously not aware of the films
potential. Unfortunately the film didn't win an Academy Award for the best
foreign film in 2001 which still puzzles film fans all over the
world.
I consider Jean-Pierre Jeunet's film as a masterpiece. In my opinion, it
is
an outstanding film in film history for its cinematography, the music, the
story, but above all the overall atmosphere. Going to the cinema is like
meditating. We sit for over one-hour and comfortable chair - our breath
slows down and as the lights are switched off, we enter a dream world. We
seek to escape our normal world just for a short period of time, to
experience something totally different and yet, we want to find ourselves
in
this world. Thanks to Jean-Pierre Jeunet I had a wonderful dream, I will
never forget.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and his camera man, Bruno Delbonnel, wanted to make the
film look like the Spanish painter did his artwork. To establish a
dreamlike
atmosphere they used mostly red and green, sometimes adding a little blue
spot in the picture to set the contrast. Audrey Tautou (Am�lie Poulain),
mostly wears either red or green dresses, as well as the housekeeper
(Yolande Moreau as Madelaine Wallace, concierge), and Am�lie's mother
(Lorella Cravotta as Amandine Poulin) in the beginning of the film. When
Am�lie Poulain sits down to watch the tragedy of her life on her TV, there
is an outstanding of a blue lamp in the background. Sometimes the use of
color gets very obvious. Am�lie's apartment for example is almost
completely
red, the underground station and the train station are kept in green and
the
green grocery store stands out from the grey buildings. Honestly, I
haven't
noticed the extreme use of color the first time I watched the movie. I
just
wondered how Jeunet succeeded in establishing such a fabulous
atmosphere.
The atmosphere is also supported by the magnificent music by Yann Tiersen
who has composed 19 songs in 15 days for this movie. The principal motive
appears in many variations somehow being joyful, yet at the same time
sad -
slow and sometimes fast and activating. The music supports every moment in
the film and becomes the sound of a fabulous world.
Camera movement certainly contributes its part to the atmosphere. Balanced
and unbalanced pictures contribute to the message of each shot. Right in
the
beginning when Am�lie's mother is introduced, the picture is balanced
symbolizing her pursuit for correctness and cleanliness. The same can be
about the first shots of Am�lie's father. When talking about his dislikes,
the shots are unbalanced. But more impressing are some camera movements.
For
example there is an astonishing high angle shot of Am�lie flipping stones
on
le canal in Paris. The camera shows her leaning on a fence, flying above
her
head then craning to a low angle shot to show her flipping stones in the
direction of the camera. Another one worth mentioning might be the chase
of
the repairs person. Nino is shown falling up the steps chasing the repairs
person for the photo machines. The camera turns to show the man getting in
the car driving off. Still in a low angle Nino starts his moped, trying to
follow the worker, almost hitting a car. Am�lie is entering the picture
running after Nino. The camera follows her, then turning almost 180�
around
her to show her hold Nino's red bag that he lost. When Am�lie sits in
front
of the station, we see her in a long shot, the camera dollies in to fly
over
her head to an over-the-shoulder shot. Some of these camera movements are
really awesome, not only from a technical point of view, but moreover from
an aesthetic standpoint. They support the dreamlike atmosphere, adding
interesting aspects to ordinary actions.
Audrey Tautou at the age of 23 is an astonishing actress. I really can't
imagine anybody doing the job better than she did. To me she is not only
giving life to the character, she lives it. It's wonderful to watch her.
There was no moment when I had the faintest impression that there is
something wrong or inappropriate in her acting. Also Mathieu Kassovitz as
Nino Quincampoix is extraordinarily gifted with his talent. Most of the
actors have done a wonderful job, although I want to mention the scene
when
Am�lie's mother gets her nervous breakdown because of the suicidal fish.
This scene appeared to me exaggerated which it probably was intended to
be.
Anyhow, the extreme close-up of Yolande Moreau was to intriguing to me, so
I
shrug back in disgust rather than laughing about it. I gues this was the
director's choice, so I don't hold her responsible for that.
Another negative and distracting thing where some scenes when Jean-Pierre
Jeunet decided to show the key in Am�lie's pocket after copying it and
bringing the original key back to the grocer's door in a very unrealistic
way. He uses a digital effet showing the key's silhouette in a yellow
light.
This is a technique that hasn't been used very often in the film, except
for
showing Am�lie's heart going faster and the old, blind man feeling very
happy after being guided by Am�lie. All these scenes disturb the otherwise
wonderful cinematography. There could have been other ways to communicate
the actions. A simple smile on the old's man face, a close-up of Am�lie's
hand letting the copied key slide into her pocket and the heart beat as a
background sound would have done the same without disturbing the
atmosphere.
Anyway, Le fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain is still my favorite movie.
The
narration is perfectly arranged taking its time to tell every detail. I
enjoyed the subplots a lot that are told in a subtle way. Maybe the
introduction is a bit to long, but still I enjoyed every second. Maybe I
am
too used to typical Hollywood productions, where you can tell the stages
of
a story by watching the clock. Le fabuleux destin d'Am�lie Poulain has its
own rhythm driving the story forward not by a superhero trying to achieve
his goal, but by a hero that knows that she has time to arrange everything
by strategic means. Maybe that is also one reason why I like this film so
much. The story is told with time and not against time. There is no last
minute-rescue, no time pressure, no need to act. It just takes its time as
life does.
In my opinion, Jean-Pierre Jeunet created a masterpiece. A film that is
not
only outstanding because of the cinematography, the special effects or any
other technical characteristics, but also combines the perfection of
craftsmanship with a wonderful story, humour, and emotion.
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