master of disguise

Your (her) options for a good disguise include:

This and this.

Or this and this.

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childhood

I love everything about this.

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cafe des deux moulins

Her quaint brasserie. According to Jeunet, the owner of the cafe was ready to close shop and enter retirement until Amelie was released. Now he has too much fun showing where she served coffee, where she melted into a puddle, and where she "wrote backwards" (the glass now seems to be covered with a too-large poster, unfortunately).

If you want to see more Amelie sights when you visit Montmartre, follow these links to Amelie walks and film locations, including the cafe where the wind made the glasses dance:

list here
walk here

Image by Ivan_Sanher.

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parisian clocks

There are many images of clocks within Amelie. The most memorable is the one that lights up with a flash in the trailer. It looks a lot like this one from the Musee D'Orsay.

Lovely photo by Darrell Godliman.

p.s. Did you know there are several Flickr groups dedicated strictly to Amelie? See one here and another here.

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red + blue

Director Jeunet and cinematographer Delbonnel wanted each shot to be primarily green or red, with just a flash of blue or yellow, as these two demonstrate. The blue objects were added post-filming. Just one of the features that make this film a visual wonder, don't you think?

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cherry picking

A few cherry-shaped and patterned pieces, inspired by little Amelie featured in the intro.

pincushion
fabric
apron
ribbon
elastic
glass

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le tour

I wish I knew how to pair this video with this song. (I think that's how it goes in the film.) There's something magical about the part where the horse jumps the fence.

I wish I knew where to find all the old film clips in Amelie, but I think most of them are stock: the acrobat with his dog, the man who dances and sing something like "Run, Callie, run!" They seem to say something about the human spirit, and yet one of them features a horse. So maybe it's animal spirit, or just the beauty of the unexpected and unusual. Or simply doing what you were born to do, whatever it is.

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shoes + socks

Sturdy, practical, and just a little rebellious. It's that last part that make these and these a fit for Amelie, don't you think? Remember what she pulled on Mr. Collignon.

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j. machado

Jeunet was inspired by works like these from Brazilian painter Juarez Machado in determining the look and feel he wanted to create for the film. I think he pulled it off.

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photobooth photos and photobooths

See one photobooth collection here.
And another here.
And some on eBay here.

See a compilation of photobooth locations here. (Orange County Fair!)
Or some early Jeunet work incorporating photobooths here.

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birdseye view

A magnifique view of Paris, shot from the tower of Sacre-Coeur. By liechtenrose.

p.s. What was one week of Amelie shall be two. One week might have been too ambitious for my blogging timetable. And I think I'll be doing more movie weeks. I like picking things apart.

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for your yard

What'll it be? Garden gnome or mini windmill?

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an amelie moment

If I was perusing a Parisian flea market and came across this guy, I think I would consider it a very Amelie moment. I don't expect you to watch all nine minutes, but if you do get past the first couple, you'll also see some fun collectibles that will make you wish you were shopping there right now.

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the pinch

Perhaps it's odd that in a film so concentrated on color, this short black-and-white scene should be my favorite cinematic moment. It's also my favorite realistic moment; I swear that could have been my dad winning the marbles, and receiving "the pinch." It's perfectly nostalgic.

(Technically, can a realistic moment also be nostalgic?)

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a padded house

Funny that the latest Anthropologie home book to arrive in my mailbox should remind me so much of the Glass Man's all-soft apartment. (And also a little of the Science of Sleep aesthetic.)

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sweet revenge

Quite possibly the cutest images of revenge, ever.

Via.

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perfumeria

These little lip tins are out of Madrid, but they look like something Amelie might keep in her vanity or in her pocket. Plus, their Art Nouveau-esque styling mirrors that of the treasure box she gives to Mr. Bredoteau. Or was it Bretodeau?

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renoir!

Le Dejeuner des Canotiers by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, circa 1881. Now at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

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kid stuff

Marks of Amelie's childhood, and probably yours too. That Blubber (the goldfish) part makes me laugh, and then kind of breaks my heart.

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michael sowa

Her charming bedroom with her friends, the paintings. Artist Michael Sowa is responsible for the the pieces above her bed, and he created the lampstand pig and crocodile. You can get your own "Filmhound" or "Fowl With Pearls" or find new Sowa favorites here or here or here.

Or buy his book here.

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