Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "AMELIE"

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Now With Moveable Parts
Originally posted by Holden Pike
Isn't a magnificent movie-going experience from a superbly-crafted piece of originality its own reward?

Most definately. Did you like what Tom Cruise said in the begining of the awards? About," More than ever."? I thought that was a rather touching sentiment.



I loved this movie.

In fact, I loved it so much I wrote a review and sent it to T.

*cough*
__________________
Everything is destined to reappear as simulation.
Jean Baudrillard
America, 1988



Now With Moveable Parts
Originally posted by Sullivan
I loved this movie.

In fact, I loved it so much I wrote a review and sent it to T.

*cough*
Awww...I love that you loved it. Friends of the movie Amelie...UNITE!!



Originally posted by TWTCommish
Sorry man, I'm an idiot. I've been utterly swamped recently. I'll get to it soon.
No worries......it's not a big deal. Seriously.

............incidentally, though, you're NOT an idiot.



Double post time. I can't help myself.

Originally posted by bigvalbowski

Speaking of France. Isn't their sexual preoccupation fascinatingly healthy? We have scenes of a naked pregnant woman followed by the child's birth. We have a scene of multiple orgasms. There is a comical sex scene that almost wrecks a coffee shop. And two or three scenes are set in a porno shop. This film received a U certificate in France; that means a 4 year old could go without his parents if he had the money. In the USA, this film is restricted to 17 and over. The US and the UK (over 15s) are so repressed sexually. I'd love to know which countries have a higher sexual perversion rate. My guess is us. Sex is so innocent, so wonderful in Amelie - that's the way it should be. In the US and the UK, sex is too often depicted as dirty and frightening. This needs to change.
I don't think it's safe to say that this film is an accurate microcosm of French society-- in other words, I don't believe the treatment of sexuality in the film is indicative of the majority social viewpoint in francophone societies.

Yes, the French can be stereotyped as a passionate, romantic people who are preoccupied with eros.....heck, from the three or four French films I've seen, I'd say there is good circumstantial evidence to support that stereotype, just judging by the type of cinema they produce. But I don't think you can make the leap from that stereotype to an assertion that sexuality is somewhat more innocent, pure, or wonderful in francophone communities than it is in the rest of the world.

Your guess about the "perversion" rate is unsupported....it sounds good, but I can't be sure it has any foothold in reality (barring the presentation of actual statistics). I'd be careful making claims of that nature without hard evidence to back it up. As long as there is sexual energy, there will be perversion, and I'm not sure such perversion can be said to have greater or lesser incidence in different parts of the world, even controlling for social normative values and other contributing factors.

What Jeunet seems to be doing is painting a fairytale picture for us-- and inasmuch as he is, the world of Amélie is a magical world, that is remarkably similar to, yet not essentially tied to, our own. Part of this fairytale picture is that sex is reduced to the natural expression of love-- the viewer shouldn't find themselves disturbed by concern about unintentional pregnancy or transmitted diseases at any point during this film (and I don't think they are).

Sex depicted as dirty and frightening? Perhaps.....but I think that if it is, the motivation for doing so is to provide a disincentive to a youth population that is already quite a bit more sexually active than previous generations. Part of the reason why this may be so leads me to my next point: I think it's a lot more common, in the UK and the US media, for sex to be portrayed as fun, easy, and the "normal" thing to do in just about any sort of relationship.

I don't think either view of sex is particularly healthy. The view of it as dirty, dangerous and disgusting is an essentially narrow view, as is the view of it as wonderful, fun and ultimately permissible. Sex is a powerful thing that I feel should be treated with reverence, respect and responsibility. I'm willing to bet that anyone who's ever seen the results of not treating it in this way would agree.



That last paragraph was dead-on, Sully. I couldn't agree more. It's not a necessary reproductive evil, and it's sure as hell not something to kill time.



Like I said....no worries. Thanks for giving me the chance to contribute to such a classy site.



Now With Moveable Parts
Great reveiw, Sully. I enjoyed it.



Registered User
Dear All --
Late again as usual. Just had to say that Holden's page one item one review was so great it was almost as good as the flick!
Thanks!
Love,
Jozie



Best film I have ever seen.
Simple as that.

It touched me, moved me, astounded me and inspired me like nothing has before. It was simply the most breathtaking filmic experience I have ever had.

Laugh at me, please.
But it's true.

Just blown away.
__________________
www.esotericrabbit.com



Now With Moveable Parts
Amen, and I agree.



Now With Moveable Parts

*hugs Gummly in their full agreement with each other*



Now With Moveable Parts
ooooooh.....you are such a brat!



Now With Moveable Parts
Rented it?! Buy it.