Montana & Paris

My top ten  favourite films have varied over the years but since 2002 the French fantasy film Amelie has always figured in the top five. I adore Jean-Pierre Jeunet's work. Amelie and A Very Long Engagement pulled at the old heart strings until I sobbed quietly into my cardigan and even the less emotionally engaging Micmacs proved to be great fun to watch, so it was with some anticipation that I went to see  Jeunet's latest fantasy movie The Young And Prodigious T.S Spivet at Theatre Clwyd yesterday afternoon.
Adapted from the Reif Larsen novel, the film tells the story of T.S Spivet ,a ten-year-old genius who secretly leaves his family's ranch in Montana where he lives with his cowboy father and scientist mother and travels across the country aboard a freight train to receive an award at the Smithsonian Institute
Jeunet's warm visuals dominate his movies


Typically of Jeunet, the film boasts some outstanding visuals, with some breathtakingly colourful scenes of rural Montana and the American Mid West as well as his signature scenes of " fuzzy" domestic life but instead of having a central character with the charisma and the talent of actress  Audrey Tautou Jeunet relies on the skills of the pre teen actor Kyle Catlett , who despite being very good, is just not strong enough to give the film the dramatic and innovative  punch it needs, something that Amelie possessed in bucket loads .
It's a sweet film........which passes the time nicely
7/10
Tautou's crowning moment in Amelie


I watched Amelie again last night, and fell in love with it and Audrey Tautou all over again. It is one of the most delightfully uplifting films I have ever seen and I  always remember 
the  scene when Amelie finally realizes that the fantasy world she has constructed for herself is a foil that prevents her from feeling real despair and loss. It is ,in my opinion,one of the most moving scenes in cinematic history.

18 comments:

  1. I loved the way Audrey T skipped her way around Amelie. I'd watch it again just to see her light-footedness.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry, but I just want to give Audrey Tautou a slap (just a token one) every time I see her big, irresistible eyes filling the screen, but I'm sure I wouldn't feel that way in the flesh.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:06 am

    I agree, Amelie is a terrific film - I love the way French cinema has the knack of conveying real emotion rather than the rather synthetic mush that Hollywood churns out. Also really enjoyed Priceless - another one with the delectable Audrey Tautou.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I hope I can find the film in this crule world of the internet. where to look?
    thank you for the inspiration any way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yael,
      If you cannot get it on DVD in Israel ( I would have thought you could) then you can watch Amelie at least on YouTube

      Delete
  5. You are obviously a serious film goer John - and lucky to have access to cinemas where such films are shown. We have a little cinema here
    which is just a room where dvd's of old films are shown. I am off tonight to see the Judi Dench 'Mrs Henderson' film.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I do miss access to proper art house cinema pat. Theatre clwyd 's tiny cinema only shows one film once a day

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amelie is a on my list as well. Watched it again the other night and it is a film that can hold the attention of my 'action/thriller film loving - rather be gaming' son. Such a beautiful looking film I often forget to glance at the subtitles x

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oooh that looks like my kind of film.

    I LOVE Amelie, and I also have watched Chocolat more times than might be considered normal .... except by my eldest son who watched The Money Pit with Tom Hanks every weekend for about a year, when he was much younger.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love love love Amelie as well John. I could so relate to all the mad people around her. Laughed all the way through.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We finally saw the Grand Budapest Hotel this weekend. Talk about stunning visuals! I need to rewatch Amélie, as I hardly remember anything of the film. (I have a theory that since we watch films in the dark, my mind treats them like dreams and promptly forgets everything.)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I thought I'd seen Amelie...but perhaps not.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved a movie called Everything Is Illuminated. Liev Schreiber produced it. Visually stunning; funny and sad with quirky characters, like the old grandfather's dog, Sammy Davis Jr. Jr. Very good film. One to watch more than once.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amelie is on my top movies ever too ! So beautiful and Audrey Tautou is outstanding.
    Must check out the the new movie.

    cheers, parsnip

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amelie is my favorite French movie. I don't know where I'd place it on my all movies list. A Very Long Engagement is excellent. I watched Delicacy a few days ago and particularly liked the end. I also enjoyed Queen to Play because I didn't know that Kevin Kline speaks French. I like him a lot. The Hurricane has told me I should watch Ridicule. I have The Well Digger's Daughter on my Netflix list, too. I decided while watching Delicacy that The Hurricane bears a strong resemblance to Audrey. I knew I produced a beautiful daughter.

    Love,
    Janie

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love Amelie. It is one of those movies that you can watch again and again. I've also seen Micmacs. It was a little quirky, but I liked it. I also like the movie called 'Delicacy' featuring Audrey T. The closing words in that movie (And why the heck can't I quote them??!?!?!) are like an arrow of poetry right through the heart.

    ReplyDelete
  16. (I've only just seen this posting)
    I'm with you on 'Amelie'. Never had the opportunity to see 'Spivet' - though more likely that I couldn't be bothered to shift myself. Now I wish I had.

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes