Amélie | A

Take one beautiful, shy girl with a heart of gold, add a whimsical search for the meaning of love and a dash of adorable match-making. Then shake it all up with a breathtaking soundtrack and the sights of Paris and you get Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, or rather simply known as Amélie. This French-language film was released back in 2001 but has continued to remain a veritable modern foreign classic in its own right.

The film stars Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code) as Amélie Poulain, the titular character, a 23-year-old waitress working at a cozy little café in the heart of Montmartre. As the daughter of an overly-cautious Army doctor and his school-teacher wife, who died in a freak accident when she was just 6 years old, Amélie grew up very isolated, with only her extremely active and rich imagination to keep her company. After hearing about the death of Princess Diana on the evening news, she discovers an old childhood box of memorabilia from the boy who lived in her apartment several decades earlier. From there, she resolves to match-make people with their dreams. Enter Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz, La Haine), an equally quirky young man who Amélie first sees collecting discarded and forgotten photographs from photo booths, and with whom she soon falls in love with. Unfortunately, the only person that she can't seem to get a handle on is herself. However, with the help of some very wise friends and self-discovery, Amélie eventually finds her sense of courage to pursue her own happiness as well.

The best words to describe Amélie would probably be fantastical, yet pleasantly grounded. It is sweet in its simplicity but has a lot of deep undercurrents beneath it — think almost along the lines of (500) Days of Summer. Amélie professes to enjoy life's simple pleasures, which provides an interesting paradox to her rather complex character. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet takes character development to another level. By the time the final credits roll, the viewer is left feeling as though Amélie is a close childhood friend you have always been rooting for, and her eventual personal realization of happiness is a joy for the viewer, as well. What is absolutely fantastic about the film is that you also find yourself rooting for the side characters that are often relegated to mere two-dimensional caricatures of human personalities and psyches. They not only have stories and lives, but you find yourself aching for their hurts and laughing when they triumph. Another great highlight of the film is the stunning soundtrack, composed by the French musician Yann Tiersen. To call it beautiful is an understatement — every single note helps to capture the emotions and the very essence of what Amélie is trying to portray.

In short, one saying that applies perfectly to this movie is: "What's important is not the destination; it's the journey." And what an extraordinary journey Amélie is!