neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Amélie
	Jean-Pierre Jeunet Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz 2001		Set in an idealized modern-day Paris, this tale of a sweetly offbeat waitress from picturesque Montmartre is the first sure-to-be classic movie of the new millennium — and one that will be remembered and extolled for many years to come. The previous efforts from French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet ("Delicatessen," "City of Lost Children" and his only Hollywood film, "Alien Resurrection") were memorable for dark, pessimistic milieus and inspired art direction. Now, Jeunet uses his rapturous visual sensibility in the service of a blissful, smile-spawning story of ardor and altruism. Amélie (the elfin, glowingly lovely Audrey Tautou) discovers a child's box of trinkets in her apartment, seeks out its owner and is so uplifted by his delight at regaining his 40-years-lost treasure that she decides to be a proactive do-gooder. While surreptitiously aiding the people around her, she encounters porn-store clerk Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), is smitten and begins a secret campaign to win his heart.