Amelie

I am no doubt the next to the last person to see Amelie. There's got to be one more person…

Like a lot of folks, I am a huge fan of Jean-Pierre Juenet, but I sort of figured I wouldn't care for this film. Yep. I've watched the beginning a couple of times but never even made it half way through. 

Thanks to Netflix I can watch when the mood strikes,  so I decided to give it a go earlier in the week. People love this film - WATCH IT TO SEE WHY!

Yes, the story is cute, but oh my, that color palette - red, green and the occasional pop of blue. I was pausing just to soak in the colors - godz, look at all this green - and to drool over the crazy details in each set. 

Of the complementary pairs, red and green is really hard to get right. Primary green and red show up in traditional Mexican folks art and of course, Christmas. That's part of the battle - using these two colors together can get you pigeon holed. As odd as it sounds, this color palette is never "obvious" in the film. I am not sure how this is possible.

Amelie's apartment is full of gorgeous reds. Basically, everything is red, save the lamps which were apparently added post production. 

I would never have thought blue would work like this, but it does, or does it?

However, I can count the scenes with pops of blue on one hand.

Who doesn't want to hang out in the Two Windmills cafe?  All the tinkling thick glasses, diffused lightning, and people watching possibilities - *sigh*. Apparently Jean-Pierre bugged the owner for almost a year before being allowed to film in the actual cafe near where he lives. The place was ready to close its doors and now it's quite the tourist destination. 

For me, the message was - there are interesting people all around you - just open your eyes - get to know them. Mr. Dufayel and Lucien are prime examples of folks who were pushed to side but have much to offer.

It could've been the case that Nino was some sort of perv and it was all for naught. Who hasn't thought someone would be interesting only to find out they were a dud? I've been on the dud-end of that.

Andy Warhol said:

“Fantasy love is much better than reality love. Never doing it is very exciting. The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet.”

Is it my favorite Jean-Pierre movie? No. For now, my fav is The City of Lost Children, however, I have been chomping at the bit to watch The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet and it looks quite promising.