Amélie from Montmartre

Colour, 35mm
France, 2000, 120 min
Section: Official Selection - Competition

Synopsis

Amélie lives in Montmarte, a quarter of Paris that seems like a world unto itself. She’s a waitress at a local bistro, shops at the local greengrocer’s and greets her neighbours as if she lived in a small town. Nothing special happens in her life except for her mother’s odd death, something Amélie’s father still takes very hard. Amélie would probably stay reconciled to her lonely lot in life if not for the fact that one day she finds a hidden cache in her apartment containing an old box full of a former tenant’s childhood keepsakes. She decides to return the long-lost articles to their rightful owner, and somehow realises that she might also be able to help improve the world around her. Then one day she discovers someone collecting passport snaps discarded near a train station photo-booth, and Amélie falls in love. His name is Nino, but it takes a bit more time before she gets to know him, and a even longer for her to allow him into her private world.

About the director

Jean-Pierre Jeunet started out making short animated films of which Carousel (1979, Le Manege) won a César. He has also won several festival awards for his short dramatic films. His first feature, Delicatessen (1991), co-shot with Marc Caro, was literally heaped with awards (incl. The European Film Award, a César for Best Debut and a Gold Medal at the Tokyo IFF). The directing duo’s exuberant imagery, sense of humour and expertly elaborated aesthetics of the fantastic are characteristic for another film they made together: The City of Lost Children (1995, La cité des enfants perdus) awarded the Special Jury Prize at Cannes. In 1997, the talented Jeunet went to Hollywood where he shot the third sequel to the successful horror film, Alien: Resurrection.