on
7/13/2002
Only one thing bothered me. No, better start from the beginning...
This week, fans finally saw the release of Amélie on DVD. The magical, head-scratching film, still playing in many demi-arthaus cinemas like Copley Plaza in Boston, marks the fourth release by acclaimed French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Nominated for five Academy Awards, Amélie is Jeunet's return to French film making after a confusing fling with Hollywood on Alien: Resurrection. Leaving the dark territory of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children with his offbeat visual and narrative styles in tow, Jeunet boldly takes on one of the Gorgons of our post '90s existence: the pervasive cynicism in which we insulate ourselves.
Amélie herself is frequently given labels like "impish," "lovable" or "painfully shy," but she's merely the result of a not unprecedented life and her own odd choices. Working as a waitress, she arrives at a nebulous scheme to make other people's lives better, and sets about doing just that. Her targets include people at the coffee shop she works in, the local grocer's son, and an old man who lives alone in her building. This would be all well and good, except that her schemes don't always work. Moreover, as her elderly friend reminds her at one of the true turning points in the film, she's really using her schemes to live vicariously through other people, rather than being bold enough to find happiness for herself.
The DVD is a wonderful release by Miramax, who's traditionally had a good stomach for marketing foreign films. Both dual-layer discs are crammed with extras including interviews, making-of's, commercials and trailers. Unlike the annoying dub of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's eventual DVD release, the movie plays with subtitles by default (showcasing the amazing French sound mix). Also, navigating the menus doesn't require wading through several minutes of movie scenes.
The packaging is fun, mottled green with yellow titling, and a bright white "5 Academy Award Nominations" box at the top. Removing the inner portion from the sleeve gives access to the two discs and shows a cover duplicated from the movie poster. And here we encounter my one problem. (I promised I'd get to it.)
Splashed across the inside cover is a Premier Magazine quote labeling Amélie "The Feel-Good Movie of the Year!" Ignoring for a moment the fact that no one gives a crap about Premier Magazine, Amélie is not a "feel-good" movie. This is not a contrived, candy-coated, bunny-wunny, Meg Ryan-slathered popsterpiece. This is a serious film that happens to say, no, it's not all that bad, and then successfully builds a case. You will have fun watching this movie. But you will not be talked down to.
Amélie is rated "R" somewhat unfairly, mostly for a scene in which she wonders how many people are having orgasms in Paris at that very moment (and the movie proceeds to show us). In French, with English or French subtitles. 122 Minutes.
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