It was back in 2001,an Indian Movie(Lagaan) made it to final 5 in the best foreign movie category in Oscars and seriously rooted for it to win. Little did i know that a movie like “Amelie Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain“(also popularly know as Amelie) was one of the co-nominees,else i would have not even have dreamt of the Lagaan bagging the title. After seeing the Movie,I’m disappointed that this movie could not win the nomination. I seriously feel this movie deserves something more than just a nomination.

And coming to the movie,it is about a girl named Amelie who had a rather strange and isolated childhood. So she kinda builds up an imaginative and interestingly fictitious world around herself. Self-indulgence is her life style. Amelie discovers the comfort and joy the simpler and little things in life like skimming pebbles on water,plunging her fingers in bag of grains etc. Probably more to do with her unsociable childhood. She has a a taste for trivial and intricate details in simplest of things.

She some how fancies the idea of helping people around her not by giving money,but rather in a subtle way,by making them happy. In her quest to do the same, we can get a sense of importance of her objective. The movie shows how conveniently we ignore the beauty of life around us. Though the movie is not practical,it still mesmerises with the melancholic, nostalgic, joyous, funny, amusing situations which most of us could easily relate to, usually to our childhood.

The camera work is really impressive with it warm tones. It totally adds a different dimension to the feel of the movie. Amelie is in the same league as American Beauty(1999), but just a couple of notches ahead. Though the movie is in French,its still worth watching with the sub-titles. My only complaint with the movie is a couple of unnecessary nude scenes(I’m no kid), but for them it will be a movie to watch with the family.

A 9/10 for Amelie