Amelie is an extraordinary film, and this makes the ordinariness of its conclusion profoundly unsatisfying. Throughout the movie (known as Le Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain in its country of origin, France) the characters are presented as delightfully quirky - Amelie enjoys running her hands through sackfuls of grain; her father likes lining up his shoes and polishing them; Nino keeps an album of photos discarded by their owners - so the ending, where Amelie and Nino leap into bed together, just as would happen in any other movie, is a huge letdown.
The premise is simple: one day Amelie Poulain finds a small box of 'treasures', which would appear to have been hidden by a small boy 40 years ago. She decides to return the box to its owner, and if he is appreciative she will continue in her quest to help those around her.
One of the strengths of the film is that - much like real life - nobody is 'normal'. As well as being introduced to characters, we are also shown their idiosyncrasies and history. However, Amelie's running time of over two hours feels too long and one gets the impression that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has attempted to fit too much into what is a light-weight movie.
It is also very funny in places, notably when Amelie takes revenge on an intolerant neighbour. It is interesting how we can, after an interval of five years, look back on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and recall with a wry smile how completely it consumed our attention at the time. Overall this is a charming and whimsical film (even if at times it is a little too aware of its quaintness), and certainly deserving of a more fitting finale.
The premise is simple: one day Amelie Poulain finds a small box of 'treasures', which would appear to have been hidden by a small boy 40 years ago. She decides to return the box to its owner, and if he is appreciative she will continue in her quest to help those around her.
One of the strengths of the film is that - much like real life - nobody is 'normal'. As well as being introduced to characters, we are also shown their idiosyncrasies and history. However, Amelie's running time of over two hours feels too long and one gets the impression that director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has attempted to fit too much into what is a light-weight movie.
It is also very funny in places, notably when Amelie takes revenge on an intolerant neighbour. It is interesting how we can, after an interval of five years, look back on the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and recall with a wry smile how completely it consumed our attention at the time. Overall this is a charming and whimsical film (even if at times it is a little too aware of its quaintness), and certainly deserving of a more fitting finale.