1 Case study: Amélie. Section C New horizons

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1 Section C New horizons Online chapter 1 Case study: Amélie Country: France French title: Le Fabuleux destin d Amélie Poulain Production year: 2001 Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Certificate: 15 Main awards: BAFTA Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay European Film Awards Best Film César Awards four awards including Best Film and Best Director 1 Promotional poster for Amélie In this case study we will cover: some of the organisations and processes involved in the production of Amélie the themes and issues raised within the film the ways in which people, places and events are represented the style and genre of the film possible creative responses. 1

2 Synopsis 2 The Two Windmills Café where Amélie works Amélie is the story of Amélie Poulain, a girl who grows up isolated from other children. Her father, Raphael, an ex-army doctor, mistakenly believes she is suffering from a heart condition. Amélie s mother dies in a freak accident when she is young. This causes Raphael to devote his life to building a shrine in the garden in her memory. Left to amuse herself, Amélie develops an unusually active imagination. When she grows up, she becomes a waitress in a small café run by a circus performer where she decides to spend her life helping others. After a series of adventures involving eccentric characters, Amélie is forced to examine her own life and her attraction to Nino, a young man who collects discarded photographs left on photo booths. Finally, Amélie overcomes her shyness, meets with Nino, and begins a relationship. Activity 1 AO3: Demonstrate planning, research and presentational skills In groups create a picture of the typical French man or French woman. Think carefully about what they might wear, how they might look, important elements of their personalities, hobbies, likes and dislikes. Label your picture and compare it with those of the other groups in the class. How realistic do you think these pictures are? How many French actors and actresses can you name? Are they like your pictures in any way? Introduction Amélie was directed and co-written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, one of a newer breed of French directors whose films are sometimes referred to as the cinema du look. His films have been popular all over the world and his background in animation shows through in his imaginative approach to film-making. The films of Jeunet and his peers have not always met with critical approval in his home country, Amélie being turned down by the Cannes Film Festival. More generally though, Amélie was hailed in France as a positive statement of what it means to be French. However, Jeunet s next film, A Very Long Engagement (2004), once again caused a national film controversy. Set in France with French subject matter in the French language, its status as a French film was called into question due to the $55 million Warner Brothers provided for the budget. This shows that debates about how the nationality of a film and its financing interact are not just a feature of the British film industry. Despite all this cultural agonising, Amélie offers the viewer an imaginative and charming view of the world that appeals to audiences of all nationalities... 2

3 Themes and issues 3 Themes and issues in Amélie Innocence and simplicity Happiness Childhood Outsiders The strongest theme in Amélie is simplicity. It is unashamed in the joy its characters take in the simple things in life. In pursuing her mission Amélie does not discuss any grand purpose, merely the desire to make people happy. This works well and flies in the face of much modern cinema as the audience and characters alike experience Amélie s brand of happiness. Her world is not totally without reality checks as not all of her schemes work as perfectly as she hopes. For example, the relationship between Georgette (Isabelle Nanty) and Joseph (Dominique Pinon) eventually breaks down. The theme of simplicity in life works closely with the importance the film puts on childhood. Both central characters are deprived of a normal childhood as the film puts it Amélie because she had too few friends and Nino because he had too many. How many of the characters were shaped and the situations they find themselves in are traced back to their childhoods. The film does not quite yearn for childhood as strongly as it might but the simple pleasures of the adults mirror the simpler pleasures of childhood. It also appeals to the outsider in all of us, how our character quirks and flaws seem to place us outside of the normal world. Everyone in the film has his or her own personal problems or situations going on, much as we all do. It has that quality of reflection on what is important in life best summed up in Dominique Bretodeau s (Maurice Bénichou) reaction to rediscovering his childhood treasure: To a kid time drags, all of a sudden you are fifty. If we can find any theme beyond a general feel-good factor then the reminder to make the most of the time we have is perhaps the most important. Representation Amélie is often described as a modern fairy tale, which on the whole is a fair summary. The film is a digitally enhanced version of a quirky and amusingly observed reality. It takes place in an idealised version of the world. The heightened reality is further underscored with its inner city Paris location. The portrayal of a modern metropolitan city as a clean and community minded world is a French equivalent of harking back to simpler times (the 1950s) in our own country. From the first moments, as the accordion 3

4 music wafts in over the opening titles, we know almost certainly that we are not about to witness a gritty and realistic portrayal of contemporary urban France. Activity 2 AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how films communicate AO2: Explore, respond to and reflect on a range of films and topics Watch the opening 1 minute 20 seconds of Amélie twice. On the first viewing focus upon the way that Paris is represented. On the second viewing, pause the film on the first frame which shows the Rue St. Vincent, Montmartre. Make notes on the mise-en-scène; think about the way colour is used. Note down what is included in the frame and why. Move onto the second frame which foregrounds the table and chairs. What is shown in the background? Finally, watch the third frame where Eugene Colere is writing in his diary. What do we see in the background? Consider what kind of Paris is being represented in these opening frames. Think about the use of accordion music, sepia tints and panoramic shots. Do you see anything that represents modern life? Key terms CGI: computer-generated imagery The film is supposed to be set in 1997 at the time of Princess Diana s death. When you watch the rest of the film, notice how many of the elements of modern life have been removed. What is represented is a virtual reality CGI Paris which provides the setting for a light, elegant romance which includes elements of fantasy with all negative elements such as poverty and racism magicked away. The story revolves around the life of the title character, Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou). The tone for the film is set when the short opening sequence is given over to her early life. It begins at the moment of conception and concludes with her leaving home for Paris. The sequence is sharp, funny and imaginatively depicted. This is heightened by a strange sense of precision in the characters and events it depicts; the timings, for example, are given to the second. Activity 3 AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how films communicate AO2: Explore, respond to and reflect on a range of films and topics Watch the opening sequence of Amélie through twice. How are the characters introduced to us? Think about the use of a narrator and what we are told about each person and the kinds of camera shots that are used. What do we learn about Amélie in this sequence? What kind of adult do we think she might grow up to be? 4

5 Once Amélie reaches Paris she settles into her life as a waitress in the Two Windmills café. A short montage is used again to illustrate the ins and outs and experiments of her everyday life. The intrusion of reality that starts the change in Amélie s life is the death of Princess Diana and Amélie s discovery of a small boy s treasure trove. 4 Little Amélie alone Amélie resolves to return this to its owner, as a test for her idea about making the world a better place, and her mission begins. While on this mission she must also find the courage to overcome her shyness and talk to Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), a young man as strange as Amélie herself. As one would expect the movie concludes, as all fairy tales should, with a happy ending or what in modern terms is described as an ending with the feel-good factor. Style and genre Amélie is a comedy and some of the jokes are both funny and delightful (the suicidal goldfish is one that immediately springs to mind). Even the death of Amélie s mother by a falling tourist is blackly amusing. In using humour we are encouraged not to take the film too seriously and are reminded about how absurdly funny life can be, even in its darkest moments. As mentioned earlier, Jeunet s roots in animation show through in the style of Amélie. The use of special effects is considerable but not intrusive: it is often only on reflection that we realise how much of a special effect we have been watching. If we are to judge how far the Paris of Amélie is idealised, we need look no further than the many scenes that are staged in underground or railway stations. They are unnaturally clean and free of the wear and tear we would expect in these kinds of places; all of the waste, graffiti, etc. has been digitally removed. The overall style of the film presents its subject matter in a cinematic warming glow, rose-tinted spectacles if you like. The successful construction of this world is complete when we find neither a talking photograph, nor a sex shop, in any way unusual or out of place. Activity 4 AO2: Explore, respond to and reflect on a range of films and topics Review Chapter 2 of the DVD. What techniques are used to speed up time at the start of this sequence? Since most of the film is about Amélie as an adult, why do you think we began from the moment Amélie was born? What important events in young Amélie s life were shown? Why were they included? What kinds of shots are frequently used to show the adult Amélie? Why are so many close-ups used? We get information from what we see on the screen, from captions and from dialogue. There are at least two other important ways in terms of sound that allow us to learn more about Amélie s world. What do you think these are? What effect does it have on the audience when Amélie talks directly to them? 5

6 Summary So why should we watch such a quirkily French film? Answer: if for no other reason than it shows us how imaginatively the world can be portrayed. Simple life and simple things are dealt with without having to reduce them to the humdrum nastiness of the soap opera. We need look no further than the movie tag line: Amélie she ll change your life. This may not be forever but it is certainly for the duration of the movie and the longer than usual amount of time it stays in the memory. 5 Amélie shows us the way to enjoy life s simple pleasures Activity 5 AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how films communicate Write a user review about Amélie for a website. You can discuss what you have liked or disliked about the film. You may also want to consider other people s responses, e.g. those of classmates or film critics. Here are some important questions you may want to consider in your review: Was the film entertaining? Did it make you laugh? Which were the funniest moments? Did Amélie s star, Audrey Tautou, give a special kind of performance? What is it about her that appeals to an audience? What kind of people and places are created by the director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet? Is the film meant to be realistic? If not, why not? How well do the elements of romance and comedy mix in the film? Would you recommend it to others? Who? 6

7 Examiner s tip You may be set a creative task like this for Question 3 of the New horizons: Exploring film outside Hollywood examination. Make sure you look at several examples of website user reviews before you begin this task. Check the spellings of the names of characters, stars and the director and consider how the film s language is used to communicate meaning and appeal to an audience. If you want to really impress the examiner you could even compare Amélie to some of Jeunet s other films! Additional resources Amélie can be seen as a gateway film to help us overcome the fear of French language films with English subtitles to read, even if it is limited to Jeunet s other films: Delicatessen (1991) A comedy set in a near future world where people have become cannibals in a strangely charming way. Within this we follow the story of two awkward lovers who struggle to stay together, incompetently supported by a band of vegetarian freedom fighters. City of Lost Children (1995) A world where happy ever after is just a dream. An ex-whale harpooner, a circus strong man and an orphan embark on a mission of rescue. A Very Long Engagement (2004) A First World War story of a woman s search for her lost fiancé (featuring a fluent French speaking Jodie Foster). Alien Resurrection (1997) Jeunet s only English language film. It s been more than 200 years... the beginning has just started reads the tag line. Outside of Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the wider world of French film. Amélie uses three clips from François Truffaut s French New Wave film Jules et Jim. This potentially opens another, much wider, door to French film. Additional resources Director s commentary: Amélie DVD Websites include: a portal into a number of excellent reviews Café Society: Amélie: Wikipedia 7