Movie of the Month - February - Amelie

It's better to help people than garden gnomes

What better film to chose for the movie of the month of love? There are few films out there that fill your heart with happiness and Amelie is one of such rare gems. The story of a sweet, lonely girl who decides to bring joy to others and in the process of that finds love is extremely inspiring and heartwarming. If every single one of us was a little bit like Amelie, I'm convinced the world would be a better place.

Visual Parallels: Amelie + The Artist

Amelie and The Artist - two lovely, charming movies, that infect the audience with incredible dose of happiness and optimism. Both French films, both shot in a gorgeous way, both using many scenes without any dialogue, simply focusing on the images. Along with the unforgettable performances by respectively Audrey Taoutou and Jean Dujardin, those films manage to capture the emotions, feelings and even the souls of protagonists in single frames. There are many similarities between the two - not just the fact that the main hero/heroine is an outsider with certain flaws that prevent them from opening up and embracing life to its fullest (Amelie is shy, George is too vein) but then a person comes along that through the gift of love and understanding gives them the happiness they really deserve.

Soundtrack Wednesday - Amelie

Track: J'y suis jamais allé

Artist: Yann Tiersen

Movie: Amelie

Scene of the Week: Amelie

directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

First Kiss(es)

The scene: After Amelie finally decides to chase Nino, her true love, she rushes out of the room with tears in her eyes. When she opens the front door in order to catch up to him, to her surprise he is standing right there - having come back after Amelie pretended she is not home. The two don't say anything, they just kiss each other - Amelie kisses Nino's cheek, neck and temple and then playfully shows him to kiss her on the lips, which Nino does and then copies what Amelie did, kissing her softly, almost worshiping her. That scene is not your usual first kiss scene - it's as lovely, unique and subtle as entire movie is.