October 10, 2006
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Amelie is one of those rare foreign films where you completely forget you're reading subtitles the entire time until you think back and say "Why didn't I watch that sooner? Oh, yeah. It had subtitles." This jem is well worth the additionial intellectual brain power. The film follows a young French girl, Amelie, in her journey to overcome her sheltered, emotionally cold upbringing and forge the relationships she longs for in the adult world. If this sounds like a very depressing, involved plot, think again because the movie delivers this journey in a refreshingly quaint, playful manner. The cinematography and colorful, visual saturation are stunning and give the film a unique, artsy feel. In the end, you'll realize this little foreign film has charmed and beguiled you from the very beginning and it'll leave you wondering- why aren't more American romance films like this?