Amelie

When Amelie opened it was up against the money maker Harry Potter. Leaving Amelie, I saw the lines for Harry Potter and said that all of those people should go see this one instead. I saw my sculpture instructor in line and demanded that he skip Harry Potter and see Amelie. He said that he'd been waiting in line for 30 minutes and wasn't about to leave it. A week later, he told me that he wished he had taken my advice. Amelie is one of the most outstanding films in the past 10 years, I haven't been this moved by a film since 1999's American Beauty.

Every aspect of this film is so fantastic and unique. The story — no matter how original — seems pretty basic, but what Jean Pierre-Jeunet (director of Delicatessen and City of Lost Children) does as director is so uniquely imaginative. I've never seen such creative ideas as there are in this film. Amelie is so witty and new. Not only is the film totally awesome but Audrey Tautou who plays Amelie is so cute! Her personality is to die for! We follow Amelie through her life from a child to adult. Amelie is an only child and never had many friends growing up. Her father a physician gave her monthly medical checkups and she loved her father so much whenever he gave her the checkups her heart would beat rapidly and therfore her father suspected she had a heart problem. With this suspected heart problem, Amelie wasn't permitted to attend school or do the things the other kids did. In turn, she had to use her imagination to make friends and keep herself entertained. Following her mother's death, Amelie spent years in isolation until she was old enough to move out. Working as a waitress in a small cafe at 23, she's still without friends, spending her days wondering about life's big questions (such as how many couples are having an orgasm at this exact moment). Later, shee makes a discovery that changes her life and those around her. She discovers a small box of a child's toys hidden in the baseboard of her apartment. Because of her shyness, she finds some really unique ways to find the owner of this box. When she witnesses the man (who hid the box when he was a child) becoming overwhelmed by the reunion with the box, she figures that she can help other people as well. Through a bunch of very unique ways, she helps those close to her, tries to overcome her shyness and help herself as well. When I left this film I was ecstatic, it was probably the happiest moment all year for me. The score is equally as fantastic as the film is. Those who have gotten the Third Eye Foundation remix project earlier this year will recognize one of the tracks by composer Yann Tiersen. Everyone needs to see this film. There is no excuse, go out now and see Amelie. It will brighten anyone's day.