Amélie (2001)

“It takes so much confidence to dance on the tightrope of whimsy. Amelie takes .... chances, and gets away with them.” Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times, 2001 Best known for dark and chilly fantasies – Delicatessen; The City of Lost Children (1990) and Alien: Resurrection (1997) – Jean-Pierre Jeunet moved into, for him, entirely new territory with this life-affirming, colourful comedy, while Tautou’s captivating performance prompted comparisons with Audrey Hepburn. Amelie is both the story of its heroine’s eccentric quest for love and an affectionate, shamelessly old-fashioned portrait of Paris, particularly the picturesque area around Montmartre and the oddball characters living there. Visually brilliant, fast-moving and full of cinephile in-references, Amelie is also instantly accessible and entertaining. While some found its relentless charm overwhelming and its rose-tinted vision of France politically suspect, it became an enormous arthouse hit, received five Oscar nominations and was named European Film of the Year. Chocolat (2000) mined a similar seam of Gallic whimsy, while Funny Face (1957) had Audrey Hepburn finding love in an equally romanticised Paris.