I Totally F***ing Love "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain"

Musique - "J'y Suis Jamais Alle" by Yann Tiersen

As part of the "I Totally F***ing Love This Movie Blogathon" at The Kitty Packard Pictorial and as part of my own month of love, I am writing about my absolute and undying love for Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain.

My sister introduced me to this movie sometime in 2004 or 2005 and I immediately fell in love. I'd only been to Paris once before (in 2000) and now I was sorry that I hadn't paid more attention to how incredibly magical Paris is (I was more impressed with being able to buy crepes on the street corner). This movie is, above all else, a love letter to Paris—you can tell by how lovingly Jean-Pierre Jeunet shot and re-colored each frame to be his ideal vision of his beloved Paris.

As someone who used to be pretty darn shy, I identified quite a bit with Amélie. And I too take great joy in simple pleasures (mine include feeling the breeze coming up from the underground bus tunnel in Seattle, gazing at the Puget Sound, and the feel of a kitty's whiskers tickling my face). I really love how the narrator points out everyone's likes and dislikes, because really, that does tell you a lot about a person!
 
Amélie obviously has quite the imagination and is perfectly happy being in love with Nino from afar. Oh yes, I feel you, Amélie. The Glass Man's comments about her preferring to relate to an absent person really struck a chord with me. However, I must say, Amélie does connect with her neighbors at least somewhat. I don't even know most of my neighbors' names! This movie makes me want to live in a little Parisian flat with quirky neighbors.

I get an undescribable feeling of bliss when Amélie decides to be a do-gooder and reunites Dominique Bretodeau with his long lost tin of childhood playthings. When he starts crying, I start crying too. Jeunet perfectly captured the feeling of doing good for others with the scene that comes after helping Bretodeau:



I get goosebumps! And it makes me want to help others—especially in unique, thoughtful ways.

Every time I watch this movie, I am tempted to cut my hair like Amélie's. And in fact, many, many times, I have actually done it. This movie has also inspired me to take French lessons and become pretty much obsessed with Paris. I've watched it so many times that I no longer need the subtitles.

I totally f****ing love this movie because it brings Paris to life for me, I identify with Amélie, it restores my faith in people's inherent goodness, it's a honey of a love story, it makes me laugh and cry, it has one of the best soundtracks EVER, and because Audrey Tautou is pretty much the cutest person in the whole world.

Check out the rest of the "I Totally F***ing Love This Movie!" Blogathon on The Kitty Packard Pictorial, February 22–24.