Feb 11: Amélie or Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001) dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

'Amélie' is a vehicle for exploring and falling in love with Paris, and in particular the area of Montmartre, up near the Sacre Coeur. It was directed by Jean Pierre-Jeunet, and the aesthetic is helped by the soundtrack from Yann Tiersen and excellent design. The film won awards at various festivals for different aspects of its creation. It was written by the director along with Guillaume Laurant

The film borrows some of its visual style from an earlier film which will also feature here: 'Delicatessen', which was made with Marc Caro. There were some similarly structured themes to the famous bedsprings sequence in the earlier film too.

It was filmed in a number of locations around Paris which are shown on the map / diagram below.

This would be the basis for a useful sightseeing tour of Paris, exploring the locations from the film and perhaps having a picture taken in a photo booth if you can find one.

Source: France Hotel Guide

Adam Scovell has a useful film blog called 'Celluloid Wicker Man' that runs alongside his writing as well. 

He has written an excellent piece on Amélie and its aesthetic.

There is a useful piece in the New York Times from 2003 which explores the way that 'cinematography meets geography'.

'...the real-life places that she frequented have profited from her magic, creating a cult of Amélie, particularly among foreign tourists who seek to follow in her footsteps. The French call it the ''Amélie Poulainization'' of the neighborhood.'

At the time, there were some interesting spinoffs from the film as well.

A film map.

Not everyone was happy with the portrayal of the city (or at least the area that was featured, which is just up from the original Moulin Rouge nightclub - I remember visiting that area some years ago - probably over 25 to be fair...) and also headed up to the Sacre Coeur.

Some argued that the city had been cleaned up too much.

"Amelie Poulain has been a success because it transposes EuroDisney to Montmartre," wrote Philippe Lancon, a journalist at the newspaper Liberation, referring to the Parisian neighborhood where the movie is set. The same logic, the same magical trompe-l'oeil, the same use of cartoon figures, the same sadness disguised as joy."

This is worth exploring more, and there is perhaps some scholarship around the (re)presentation of Paris in the film.

An example is here: comparing the film with 'Midnight in Paris' on a website called 'Artifice'.

The film's trailer is here:

Here are some of the locations in another film:

I may well return to this at a later date. I think I need to rewatch the film again.