Amélie (2001)
94%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 5 Oscars
59 wins & 74 nominations total
Amélie, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, is a whimsical and charming romantic comedy that has captured the hearts of audiences worldwide. Jeunet’s masterful use of signifiers of a caricature France is both maniacal and clever, creating a tone that is modest rather than grandiose. The film scatters its charm like pearls from a broken necklace, all the more adorable because they are not real. It is a tour de force of a bauble, emotionally and aesthetically beautiful, and a celebration of the imagination and people who are dreamers. Through surrealism and utter weirdness, the picture transforms into a surprisingly sentimental celebration of life, offering a determinedly cinematic world that resonates emotionally, reeking of familiarity and nostalgia. Amélie is the perfect blending of pure art with pure heart, constructed in an oddly fascinating, magic realistic world full of color.
Amélie is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get, but you know it’s going to be sweet. This whimsical romantic comedy takes you on a journey through the streets of Paris, where you’ll meet quirky characters and fall in love with the city’s charm. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s attention to detail is impeccable, and his use of color and music will transport you to a magical world. It’s a celebration of imagination and a reminder to never stop dreaming. So grab a croissant, sit back, and let Amélie take you on a delightful adventure.
Production Company(ies)
Claudie Ossard Productions, Union Générale Cinématographique Victoires Productions,
Distributor
Miramax Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Rue des Trois-Frères, Paris 18, Paris, France
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexual content
Year of Release
2002
-
Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
-
Runtime:2h 1m
-
Language(s):French, Russian, English
-
Country of origin:France, Germany
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 2, 2001 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 16, 2002
Genre(s)
Comedy/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Yolande Moreau, Dominique Pinon, Maurice Bénichou, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillaume Laurant, Comedy, Romance, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Frédéric Bonnaud, Kate Muir, Barbara Ellen, Philip Kerr, Jack Mathews, Ronnie Scheib, Jim Rohner, Sarah Brinks, MPAA rating R, produced by Claudie Ossard
Worldwide gross: $174,118,254
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $288,786,021
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 523
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 31,492,478
US/Canada gross: $33,225,499
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $55,106,569
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,027
US/Canada opening weekend: $136,470
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $226,344
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,618
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $10,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $16,585,626
Production budget ranking: 1,469
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $8,931,359
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $263,269,035
ROI to date (est.): 1,032%
ROI ranking: 117
Mathieu Kassovitz – Nino Quicampoix
Rufus – Raphael Poulain (Amelie’s father)
Yolande Moreau – Madeleine Wallace (concierge)
Dominique Pinon – Joseph
Maurice Bénichou – Dominique Bretodeau
Director(s)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Claudie Ossard
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 5 Oscars
59 wins & 74 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (185) | Top Critics (56) | Fresh (164) | Rotten (21)
In a sense, Amélie depends on the maniacal cataloguing of signifiers of a caricature France: Jeunet nails every last one. But he cleverly opts for a tone that is modest rather than grandiose
April 10, 2018
Frédéric Bonnaud
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The whimsical romantic comedy directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet burst through the language barrier to become an international success.
December 10, 2015 | Rating: 4/5
Kate Muir
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie is one of those once-in-a-decade comedies which scatters its charm like pearls from a broken necklace, all the more adorable because they are not real.
December 2, 2014
Barbara Ellen
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It’s all very charming, often amusing, and there is hardly a dull moment.
October 21, 2014
Philip Kerr
New Statesman
TOP CRITIC
It is a tour de force of a bauble, if such a thing can exist.
April 9, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Jeunet has succeeded at drawing us inside his head; the question is, do we want to be there?
April 9, 2014
Ronnie Scheib
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
…a film so emotionally and aesthetically beautiful that I think I just talked myself into buying it on Blu-ray…
April 15, 2021
Jim Rohner
Battleship Pretension
I think what I like so much about Amélie is that it is a celebration of the imagination and people who are dreamers.
April 1, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Through an avoidance of reality and escape through surrealism, the utter weirdness of the picture transforms into a surprisingly sentimental celebration of life.
September 25, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The perfect blending of pure art with pure heart.
September 23, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet has constructed an oddly fascinating, magic realistic world full of color.
March 31, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Shikhar Verma
High on Films
What it offers is a determinedly cinematic world in which references pile upon references to assemble a synthetic universe that resonates emotionally, reeking of familiarity and nostalgia.
February 20, 2020
B. Ruby Rich
The Nation…
Plot
Amélie is a story about a girl named Amélie whose childhood was suppressed by her Father’s mistaken concerns of a heart defect. With these concerns Amélie gets hardly any real-life contact with other people. This leads Amélie to resort to her own fantastical world and dreams of love and beauty. She later on becomes a young woman and moves to the central part of Paris as a waitress. After finding a lost treasure belonging to the former occupant of her apartment, she decides to return it to him. After seeing his reaction and his new found perspective – she decides to devote her life to the people around her. Such as, her father who is obsessed with his garden-gnome, a failed writer, a hypochondriac, a man who stalks his ex girlfriends, the “ghost,” a suppressed young soul, the love of her life and a man whose bones are as brittle as glass. But after consuming herself with these escapades – she finds out that she is disregarding her own life and damaging her quest for love. Amélie then discovers she must become more aggressive and take a hold of her life and capture the beauty of love she has always dreamed of.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Audrey Tautou plays the delightful heroine, Amélie, in the film.
Jean-Pierre-Jeunet.jpg
