Amélie

One of the themes of the film is watching and being watched.

Amélie
UGC
25 April 2001
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B-

I remember loving this movie at the time, charmed by its whimsicality.  Watching it again, I still like it but its flaws are more obvious.  Amélie (played very well by Tautou) is very introverted but she decides to help other people, mostly secretly.  Sometimes she succeeds, but even within the film it's clear that matchmaking a stalker and a hypochondriac is not going to work out.  She never has to pay any consequences, but then she doesn't always reap the rewards.  I'm reluctantly using the "romance" tag, although she and her potential boyfriend spend more time solving puzzles and chasing after each other than actually getting to know each other.  (Or I guess this is how they get to know each other.)  The garden gnome thread though is still great, and I love the look of the film, from her neo-flapper hairdo to the enriched greens and reds.  The narration mostly works, giving the story more of a "timeless" literary quality, although there are many references to Lady Diana (pronounced "Dee"). 

Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed and co-wrote.