Destinées sentimentales, Les (2000)

Smiling throughout this movie...
Many have called this one of the top 10 greatest movies of all time. Well, I was skeptical but have become a convert. Amazing cinematography; fabulous casting and characters; a feel-good-warm-your-heart movie; a romance; a comedy - all wrapped into one foreign sub-titled film running two hours but at a hectic / mesmerizing pace.

Amelie, who works as a waitress, takes pleasure in the small things in life (smooth stones, skipping rocks on water, kindness). She manages to orchestrate several feel good solutions for the lives of her friends and family. And, then she falls in love but can't bring her introverted self to let him know how she feels. As they say, one good turn deserves another and one of her friends helps her cross the chasm. A must-see movie.

Ever So Charming
Who could possibly resist the charm and good feelings that this movie brings? It is a visually stunning and emotionally wonderful film that ranks as one of my favorite films of all time. Audrey Tautou's performace is enchanting and you can't help but root for her throughout the film. Filled with humor, romance and mystery, there isn't much about this film that isn't perfect.

"It's better to help people than garden gnomes."
It is not that I don't like 'Amelie' and don't appreciate its charm and whimsy - I am yet to see the streets of Montmartre, Paris as magic as in the movie, and I've been to Paris and found it the most beautiful place in the world. It is that I don't find it fabulous, amazing, and original enough to grant its status of one of the greatest movies ever made according the multiple top lists. One of the IMDB reviewers described "Amelie" the best: "sweet, sweet, sweet" - and that triple sweetness was a bit too much for my taste, I guess. I found it amusing and very good looking but the story of a naive shy young girl who found her destiny in making people around her happy by helping them find love and while doing so, finding her own love, as sweet as it sounds, left me indifferent. To sum up, for me, "Amelie" is a pleasant little movie but not a timeless masterpiece which would stay in my memory for long time.