5.5.05

for amelie, wherever you may find her

As far back as I can remember I’ve always had difficulty getting sleep, especially when I’m either too happy or too sad. Yesternight, I was neither.

Still, I kept wide awake for no fathomable reason whatsoever. I did absolutely nothing, and gathered whatever tiny crumbs of sleep I could, while piled up uncomfortably over my office chair. I came back home at around 5am. Still in no mood to sleep, I turned on the TV.

Click. Friends. Nada. Click. Simpsons. Nope. Click. Click. Click. Amelie.



Ah, that French movie called ‘Amelie’ on Zee Studio, didn’t it have an interesting promo, with a passing mention of it being ‘critically acclaimed’?

Ensuing a few more minutes of aimless surfing and getting nowhere in particular, I had settled on Amelie. After a few minutes of watching, the magic began. Wham, I was sucked into the movie. Poetry on screen, with every colour a hue brighter, every shot sprinkled with subtle surrealism, giving the movie a dreamy air on the whole. It was told like an urban fable, the story of a girl on her quest for love and life. She, in relentless pursuit of her dreams like a female Don Quixote, reminded me of someone I knew. “It’s gotten harder for dreamers these days.”, a character said.

There’s just one word for describing this movie. Beautiful.

Here's a sketchy outline for you- Raised in near isolation, growing up to be emotionally numb, a random act of kindness whimsically carried out by Amelie, our protagonist, gives her a taste of doing good. Thereafter, she turns into an urban Zorro, changing people’s lives for better with her subtle tricks and manipulations. I won’t give away anymore of the story. Go watch it. Hang in there a moment. And you’d fall in love with her. And her unlikely sidekick, an old man with unusually brittle bones.

Oh, and she does find what (or who) she was looking for.

5 comments:

Russell CJ Duffy said...

it is one film that i keep meaning to see and it is the one movie that i keep forgetting. thanks for the excellent post!

Bhavv Chawla said...

Hmmmm! Sounds interesting.
Changing people’s lives for better with subtle tricks and manipulations
Will check it out.

Anonymous said...

There's something magical about the way movie is shot. Immensely pretty. Manish is right on when he says 'Poetry on screen', visual poetry it is. I've seen it twice and will see it more.
The background (accordion?) music is charming.
Highly recommended!

RTD2 said...

Hi Manish..first time here..interesting stuff. I LOVVVVED Amelie. It spoke straight to me, the magic, the lonely innocent playfulness, the intense longing, the dogged perseverance to Make A Difference! And the humor is so enchanting..I love it!

Manish Bhatt said...

Cocaine Jesus: Do not miss that movie. And do keep coming back. The pleasure's all mine.

Bhavv: It is interesting.

Anon: You took the words right out of my mouth.

RTD2: So do I. And do come back.