Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Written by Guillaume Laurant Story by Guillaume Laurant Jean-Pierre Jeunet Narrated by André Dussollier Starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz Music by Yann Tiersen Cinematography Bruno Delbonnel
1) Summary of the film Amelie isn’ t like other girls. She watched her goldfish disappear in a municipal swımmıng pool right before her very eyes, her mother died ın Notre Dame Square ,and her father dotes on a garden gnome. Amelie has grown up and is a waitress in a ex-equestrian dancer’s Montmarte bar . Her life is simple. She likes to break the sugar crust of her creme brulee , skip stones on the Seine , watch people and let her imaginatıon wander. At twenty-two, with a dramatic turn of events , Amelie discovers a purpose : to fix other people’s lives. And so she invents all sorts of ways to intervene unseen into the lives of several of the people around her. Among them are a building superintendent who spends her days drınkıng port with her stuffed dog, Georgette the hypochrondriac tobacconist and the glass man, her neihbor who lıves vicariously through a Renoir reproductıon. Amelie’s mission ıs abruptly interrupted when she mets Nino Quincampoix, an unusual and off-beat young man. Working part time at a ghost train amusement ride and sex shop, Nino collects photos that have been abandoned at photobooths. His desperate search to find a stranger whose photo reappears incessantly is suddently interrupted by his meeting with Amelie. Amelie is fascinated by Nino , but she prefers to play hide and seek wıth him, rather than let herself be known. After several tries , she gives up, but fortunately the glass man , an expert in introversion, gives her taste of her own medicıne by pushing her into the arms of Nino. 2) Plot Segmentation Chapter 1-2 • Amelie’s childhood • characters introduced Chapter 3 • Amelie finds box
• talks to landlady, learns of her husband • asks Collignon, then goes to his parents Chapter 4 • Blind man in subway stop w/ record player • 1st meets Nino • general scene in 2 Windmills • Amelie looks up 3 Bretoteaus • Glassman tells her Bretodeau • she goes in his apartment Chapter 5 • Amelie and we meet Dominique Bretodeau, and he finds box • Amelie helps Blind Man, and he is blessed Chapter 6 • Amelie steals gnome, meets Nino again • Nino chases man, Amelie gets his photo album • Suzanne’s story of circus; Amelie starts to fix up Joseph and Georgette • Amelie reads story about lost mail being found Chapter 7 • Amelie talks about paining and photos with Glassman • Amelie records racehorse, delivers tape to GM • she takes Collignon’s keys, decides to punish him, copies keys • Hipolito’s poetry of life • Amelie’s 1st sabotage of Collignon • Amelie quotes Hipolito on the train • awkward dinner w/ Dad, and he shows her 1st gnome picts Chapter 8 • Nino’s note for lost notebook; animals in room talk to Amelie • Collignon’s 1st suffering • Joseph and Georgette play lottery • Amelie calls Nino’s work , gets porn line • Lucien’s trick groceries for GM; they insult Collignon • GM watches horse video Chapter 9 • Joseph and Georgette’s 1st time • Amelie and GM disc. painting again • Amelie goes to porn shop, learns of Nino • Amelie rides ghost ride Chapter 10 • photos talk to Nino • Nino follows Amelie’s clues at carousel Chapter 11 • more photos of gnome
• Amelie steals landlady’s letters • Joseph and Georgette make eyes in bar • Nino asks coworker about Amelie • Amelie gets insult from prompter for Collignon • more sabotage of Collignon • Amelie fixes letters for landlady (as Amelie reads letters, we notice how sound effects change for each letter) • more of Collignon’s suffering Chapter 12 • Nino’s signs – “Where and When?” • Amelie does Zorro thing, meets bald man in photos • landlady gets fake letter • Lucien draws w/GM; they fight about Lady Di • GM watches 2nd video from Amelie Chapter 13 • more gnome photos • Pilomène returns gnome to Amelie • Nino searches Paris for photos; finds Amelie’s Zorro message; goes to 2 Windmills • Joseph jealous w/Georgette. • Amelie imagines Nino getting delayed • Amelie can’t face Nino; melts into water Chapter 14 • Amelie and GM discuss painting again; strategies or risks? • Amelie watches video; GM asks Lucien to film him • Amelie breaks photo machine and calls for repair • Nino finds Amelie’s note, falls for setup • Nino meets repairman; Amelie’s near-miss meeting Nino • Nino meets w/Gina to discuss Amelie; Jos. sees conspiracy • our way-off fantasies can be harmless and pleasant Chapter15 • gnome returns home • Joseph and Georgette fight; Joseph tells off Hipolito; Hipolito’s philosophies • Joseph tells Amelie of Nino and Gina • Nino and Gina talk • Amelie goes home, ignores landlady • Amelie makes cake, has fantasy of Nino • Nino comes to door Chapter 16 • Amelie watches GM’s video • Nino returns • epilogues 3-4) Major Characters – Movitations
One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of people she knows . Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is ayoung woman who had a decidedly unusual chıldhood ; misdiagnosed with an unusual heart condition, Amelie didn’t attend school with other chıldren, but she spent most of her time in her room , wher she developed a keen imagination and an active fandasy life. Her mother Amandine (Lorella Cravotta) died in a freak accident Amelie was eight, and her father Raphael (Rufus) had limited contactwıth her, since her presence seemed to throw her heart into hıgh gear. Despite all this, Amelie has grown into a healthy and beautıful young woman who Works ın a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. When Princess Dianna dies in a car wreck ın the summer of 1997 , Amelie is reminded that life can be fleetıng and she decided it’s time for her to intervene in the lives of those around her ,hoping to bring a hope of hapiness to her neighboors and the regulars at the cafe . Amelie starts by bringing together two lonely people—Georgette (IsabelleNanty) , a tobacconist with a severe case of hypochondria, and Joseph (Dominique Pinon) , an especially ill-tempered customer. When Amelie finds a box of old toys in her apartment , she returns them them to their former owner, Mr. Bretodeau (Maurice Benichou), sending him on a reverie of childhood. Amelie befriends Dufavel (Serge Merlin), an elderly artist living nearby whose bones are so brıttle, thanks to a rare disease , that everything in his flat must be padded for his protection. And Amelie decides someone has to step into the life of Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a lonely adult vıdeo store clerk and part-time carnival spook-show ghost who collects pictures left behind at photo boots around Paris. 5) Mode off address We are introduced to Amelie's life through narration. The narrator, an unknown, off-screen French male voice, describes Amelie's childhood. Immediately the audience realises that this film is to be narrated, and, for the opening eight minutes or so, the only dialogue we hear is that of the narrator. After the eleventh minute though, a bridge is formed between the film and the omniscient narrator who gives us an abridged history of this connection. The bridge is, of course, Amelie. Strangely enough though, she begins to interact with the narrator, which breaks down the wall between the audience and the film’s characters, and the narrator and the film’s characters. Such is the first important role of the narrator: to connect the audience and the film in a relationship. The second role for the narrator is to foreshadow events in the film and give the audience prior knowledge and information that the characters, in particular Amelie, have no real grasp of.