I hated everything that I'd seen by Jeunet to this point. I thought that Delicatessen and City of Lost Children were that annoying kind of 'art' film that had more in common with music video than cinema, preferring eye popping visuals to genuine filmmaking. And Alien Resurrection, his foray into Hollywood sellout was the lowest point in a series long past its sell by date.
Amelie, when compared to these previous films, feels like a breath of fresh air. Jeunet still prefers camera tricks to camera style, quick cuts to mise-en scene, and digital effects to photography. And while the plot here shows quite a bit of invention, it relies far too much on its omniscient narrarator to inform us just how charming everyone and everything here is. But for the first time, Jeunet seems to want to put people in front of the camera instead of phantasmagoric setpeices. The photography, when it is coherent, is often stunning. The model here seems to be classic Hollywood musicals like Singing In the Rain, and Jeunet fills the screen with a stunning array of colors, and every shot simply sparkles.
Of course, I still find Jeunet's visual style rather oppressive and tiring. But this very style will probably recommend it to the college students who will make this a big hit for a few years. And it's nowhere nearly as godawful and overwrought as Oliver Stone's similarly stylized Natural Born Killers, which is what all the pretentious kids were watching when I was in school.
Amelie, when compared to these previous films, feels like a breath of fresh air. Jeunet still prefers camera tricks to camera style, quick cuts to mise-en scene, and digital effects to photography. And while the plot here shows quite a bit of invention, it relies far too much on its omniscient narrarator to inform us just how charming everyone and everything here is. But for the first time, Jeunet seems to want to put people in front of the camera instead of phantasmagoric setpeices. The photography, when it is coherent, is often stunning. The model here seems to be classic Hollywood musicals like Singing In the Rain, and Jeunet fills the screen with a stunning array of colors, and every shot simply sparkles.
Of course, I still find Jeunet's visual style rather oppressive and tiring. But this very style will probably recommend it to the college students who will make this a big hit for a few years. And it's nowhere nearly as godawful and overwrought as Oliver Stone's similarly stylized Natural Born Killers, which is what all the pretentious kids were watching when I was in school.