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Analysis Of Amélie

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Amélie is a 2001, French romantic-comedy set in Montmartre, Paris, France during the late 1990s. The film follows Amélie as she wanders through the city, and portrays a variety of perspectives on daily life in the city. The film is set in and around iconic areas of Paris, France, where viewers are given glimpses of classical French architecture and landmarks. This essay will argue that the film Amélie portrays daily Parisian life through a romanticized lens. This essay will offer discussion on how the film provides a commentary on urban life in Paris. The following paragraphs will offer a discussion on the portrayal of the city, the reasoning for these portrayals, how they might affect the audience and how such portrayals impact one’s …show more content…

What is important to consider is what is missing from this representation of the city. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is the director of the film, he is quoted as saying, “I wanted to make a fake Paris, a very nice Paris, like in my head when I was twenty and I arrived in Paris for the first time. I wanted to avoid the bad things: traffic jams, dog shit on the street, the rain” (Portegies, 2010, p. 55). What Amélie projects is simply a cinematic version of Paris (Durham, 2008, p. 178). Jeunet was criticized for this depiction of Paris, “which appeared to erase, as if by magic, all traces of graffiti, crime, pollution, and social unrest” (Ezra, 2004, p. 301). The film’s setting used more than eighty separate locations, and is, “so vetted and filtered that the manufactured Paris-scape resembles little more than a sustained advertisement for a traditional French product” (Portegies, 2010, p. 56). This romanticized version of Paris is then exacerbated by the traditionally associated French clichés which are present throughout the film. Thus, Amélie seeks to contrast the dark and gritty imaginings of the city and instead make it an attractive place to be. Jeunet’s contemporary Paris, creates astonishing adventures out of the everyday life. For some, this reimagining of the city erases the experiences and lives of actual people within the city. The focus of the film does not give the viewer an honest

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