My Review: Mood Indigo (5/10)

"This feeling of solitude is unfair. I demand to fall in love too!"

No one does surrealism better than the French, but unfortunately I'm not into surrealism and I usually have a hard time enjoying this genre in general. Mood Indigo is probably more surreal than any other film you've seen before, and despite the fantastic visuals and rich imagery used I had a hard time engaging with the characters and its lack of a strong narrative story. I was a huge fan of director, Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and despite the surrealism in that film I enjoyed the strong narrative along with the romance, but I guess a lot of that had to do with Charlie Kaufman's involvement in the writing of the script. Mood Indigo kind of feels like that short scene where Jim Carrey's character was sharing his memory from his childhood as a small scaled adult, with the exception that in Mood Indigo the entire film is like that. There are many surreal elements, like a rat sized man dressed in a rat costume running around the house, a door bell that takes a life of its own every time someone rings the bell, and there's a piano that makes cocktail drinks depending on the notes you play, among many other things (and did I mention how people's legs stretch like rubber every time they started dancing?). Mood Indigo is a great title, although I like the sound of the original French title, L'écume des jours, but the english title fits the film well because moods are a predominant element here. It is a unique film, but one that I had a hard time connecting with and got little enjoyment out of it.

Despite not having a strong narrative, I enjoyed the performances in this film. Romain Duris plays Colin, a wealthy bachelor who falls in love with Audrey Tautou's character, Chloe. They quickly fall in love and everything around them seems to blossom. That is until Chloe develops a strange illness when a flower begins to grow in her lungs. Colin will spend his fortune and do what it takes in order to save her, but little by little the happiness and brightness of his home begins to lose its intensity. Other strong performances came from Omar Sy who played Colin's overly enthusiast chef and who prepares some strange dishes with the help of a TV cook, and then there is also Colin's best friend, Chick, played by Gad Elmaleh who is in a relationship as well and is always hanging out at his home. They all give strong performances and help set the surreal tone of the film with their energetic deliveries. It was great to see Omar Sy again because I really enjoyed his performance in The Intouchables. He was probably my favorite character in this film.

Ultimately the film wore me out and I had a hard time sticking with the entire story because I wished it had a stronger narrative story. I never really cared for the characters here because Gondry was more focused on the images and the fantastical elements rather than on telling a story. This is as close as you get to watching a live action cartoon so if that is what the audience is looking for they will be pleased, but it just wasn't a film for me. 

My Review: Amelie (8/10)

¨ Amelie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony. It's a perfect moment. A soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind overcomes her.¨

I didn’t fall in love with Amelie in the same way many critics did, but I did enjoy this wonderful and uplifting movie powered by an interesting script and a great performance from Audrey Tautou. The cinematography is pretty breathtaking as well as it uses a lot of color (green, yellow, and red are predominant) giving the movie the fantastic touch it conveys. This French film was written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet who had previously worked in the Alien sequel, Alien Resurrection. This is a much better film. It has some great moments of humor, some mysteries that are solved along the way, and several romantic moments. It is a strange movie, but it works and ends up being uplifting. The narration in this film reminded me a lot of Y Tu Mama Tambien, where you had the narrator explain certain events that were happening at the time that didn’t have anything to do with the story. The film was nominated for 5 Oscars in 2002 despite not winning any, but it did win a lot of recognition from international audiences. The movie takes place in Paris and that alone is a plus with such great scenery, and it also has a lot of energy that transcends the screen. It`s hard not to like this small movie.

Amelie (Audrey Tautou) had a difficult childhood; she was raised by her relatively unsocial parents and had little contact with the outside world due to her father`s misdiagnose of a heart condition he thought she suffered. She was homeschooled by her neurotic mother and thus lived practically on her own imagining a world of fantasy. Her mother died in a rather comedic accident when she was young and ended up being raised by her father. Once she turned 18 Amelie moved out and began working at a cafeteria. She doesn’t have many friends since she isn’t good at relating with real people, but one day her life changes when she discovers a small box that was hidden in her bathroom. The box contained some treasures from a boy who had lived in her apartment some fifty years ago. Amelie decides to search for this boy, now a grown man, and give him back the treasure box. When she finds him and sees the positive reaction it has on his life, Amelie decides to become a good doer and help as many people as she can. In this process she falls in love with a man named Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz) who has a weird hobby of collecting tossed away pictures from photo booths. Amelie is afraid of speaking to him and idealizes her love for him. Meanwhile she continues to help out as many people as she can including a lonely old neighbor, her father, her co-workers and their love dilemmas, and pretty much anyone she meets in the street that might have a need. Amelie puts their needs above her own and lives with purpose.

Pretty much every character in this film seems to be strange, but it`s not hard to fall in love with them and accept their differences. Amelie seems to enjoy helping out her co-workers to find love, but at the same time has a difficult time to express her own love for Nino. She`s always putting others ahead of her, but as the sang goes ¨You sow what you reap¨ she seems to be destined to find happiness as well. Her life begins to have purpose when she discovers she can bring joy to others, and in the end that is what gives her a sense of joy after so many years of living a quiet and sad life. The movie moves at a really fast pace with a lot of energy combining a lot of comedy with some romantic moments. The performances in this film are great and the characters are all interesting. The music in this film is also catchy and happy some the entire film seems to work as a fantastical love letter where dreams are fulfilled in a rather unconventional way. The film is brilliantly written as well and the screenplay is very original. Amelie is a fun movie that will have you laughing and smiling from beginning to end.

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