I still vividly remember the Oscar campaign for Amélie with its whimsical tone and saturated colors. It was several years until I watched the film myself, but I was absolutely blown away when I did. Amélie provides an almost fantastical look at romance in a way I’d never experienced. Audrey Tautou is a revelation and absolutely mesmerizing in every shot. So I was pleased to be able to talk to Amélie’s director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, about the film’s re-release. Amélie has some strange rights issues for those unaware, which means the film has no worldwide distributor. But thankfully, Sony Pictures Classics has come along and given us a re-release of the film. However, don’t get your hopes up for a 4K release, as the director views them as nothing more than a gimmick. So when you see that eventual Blu-Ray release, don’t hold out hope for a 4K behind it. It’s unfortunately never going to happen.
And you’d be crazy if you thought I would talk to Jean-Pierre without getting into Alien: Resurrection. I’ve always appreciated the visual style of the film (despite some of its other qualities), so it’s nice to hear the pride Jean-Pierre has in it. Because, despite the film being the odd duck of the franchise, it’s very French in its sensibilities, which we don’t see a lot in American Blockbusters. So make sure you check out the interview above and let me know below if you’re going to check out the Amélie re-release in theaters. I know I will!
Amélie plot synopsis: Amélie (Audrey Tautou), the heroine of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s award-winning whimsical romance, is no ordinary young woman. A waitress in a Montmartre, Paris bar, Amélie observes people and lets her imagination roam free. One day, she suddenly finds her purpose in life: to solve other people’s problems. Wefollow her around a lovingly and vividly photographed Paris of saturated colors, as she engineers offbeat solutions to better her deserving co-workers, relatives and neighbors’ lives…Among them the concierge who spends her day sipping port while communing with a stuffed dog; Georgette, the hypochondriac newsdealer; and the “glass man”, who lives vicariously through a Renoir reproduction. Amélie’s mission to help others is rudely interrupted when she meets a strange, off-beat young man, Nino Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz), who captures her interest, and sets her on a mission to accomplish something for herself…in the most charming and complicated way possible.
Amélie returns to theaters on FEBRUARY 14TH, 2024.