Amélie

“Amélie” (Audrey Tautou) has had something of the girl in a bubble upbringing thanks to her dad and so now in adulthood isn’t so adept at interacting with real folks. Indeed, she spends much of her time living in her own fantasy world as she takes a job in a Parisian café and begins to see something of real people in the real world. In her flat she discovers something left by the previous occupant and so she decides to repatriate it. His delight in her doing so inspires her to do more to help others, and so what now ensues sees her sometimes seriously and sometimes mischievously set about sorting out problems for some of her family and her new found acquaintances. This provides her (and us) with a myriad of scenarios from ghosts, hypochondriacs and even her dad’s favourite garden gnome but it also showcases her own need for something fulfilling to happen in her own life. That’s where the charming “Nino” (Mathieu Kassovitz) might just come in, if she can but summon the courage to leave her own psychologically gilded cage. I found there something engagingly mercurial about Tautou here who reminded me quite a lot of Audrey Hepburn. Her eyes and her smile help to portray a character with an huge generosity of spirit, and with a strong ensemble cast to keep this fun it still makes a few more salient points along the way. It looks good, it sounds good and I found it remarkably unsentimental as it reminds us that a little kindness and trust can go a long way.