Essay Example on Amelie: A Story of Life, Love & Mise-en-Scene

Introduction

Amelie is a 2001 French film that tells the story of the young girl, Audrey Tautou (Amelie Poulain) at her early twenties, who succeeds in her life mission of helping others. Ultimately, the film uses mise-en-scene in its entirety. Right from the opening scene, the film exposes the conception of the main character in the movie (Amelie) through the presentation of a microscope that shows a sperm embedding itself into an egg. The film starts with a fly being run over by a car, and it switches swiftly to dancing drinking glasses on a white cloth that is being drifted by wind and eventually a man who is erasing phone number of a recently dead friend from his notebook. The opening scene introduces the quirky sense of humour in the film, where it depicted the characters according to their broad characteristics.

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Setting/Props

The movie setting is in France because of the spoken terminology from the narrator to the actors throughout the film is French. It includes the well-known landmarks in France without the cliché of presenting the Eifel structure in every scene. In some shots, there are iconic bridges and other building in Paris and in the panoramas where Amelie is jogging, there are apartments, narrow city streets and marketplaces associated with the Rome neighbourhoods. For instance, the frequently used East Station captures specific teaching in the arranged moments of Amelie. The props used in the movie almost served the same purpose for Amelie, and they include the spinning coin, paper cutouts, the pet fish and the sound from the top of the class. In this case, the props present Amelie’s innocence through her struggles to get the affection needed when a child is growing up. Due to a lack of love and good parenting, Amelie is creative in the manner that she spins a coin and tries to stop it. Even though the fish is the most impersonal animal to keep as a pet, Amelie has an intense passion with it in the film to show how she was desperate for companionship. For instance, when the fish jumped out of the tank, Amelie kept on screaming until her parents scrambled to rescue it.

Lighting/Color

Lighting used in the film is typically a three-point lighting strategy that uses multiple sources of light to illuminate the main actor, the main activity and some background environments. The lighting strategy in the film provides a whimsical feeling because it majors on presenting more highlights and very fewer shadows. The most dominating lighting in the movie is light-hearted brightness with less deep darkness and shadows. For instance, the casting of Amelie’s face is done in half shadow and half-light in most of the scenes to depict the mystery in her contemplation of the manoeuvre in life game. Colour is realistically balanced in the depiction of the actors and especially Amelie and her father Raphael Poulain as the main characters. The primary colours at the beginning of the film are red and green. In the instance of introducing a new major plot point, a new colour is added with coherence to the movie’s palette. There is a pure blend in bright colours casually with Amelie’s surrounding environment. For instance, there is a red top and skirt in the red wallpapered kitchen and a green sweater in the dark café with green neon light. Besides, her clothes depict certain statements and memories such as the red dress alongside the green river. The bold colours worn by Amelie represent her bubbly personality and her young sweetness. In contrast, her father usually wore meek and muted insignia as the typical clothing of an older person.

Costumes/Hairstyle/Makeup

The central aspect of concern in the film is the wardrobe which depicted the 1920s dressing styles. Keeping a close track on Amelie, majority of her costumes were sundresses representing modernity with muted patterns. The designs of the dresses portrayed Amelie as an innocent young woman in the eyes of the audience. Amelie’s elderly neighbour, Raymond Dufayel is also known as the “Glass Man” usually wore a mismatched furry hat with a sweater or a parka to make the audience believe that he is bundled up like a typical old man. Amelie’s hairstyle depicted bob’s hair cut style back in the 1920s. The hairstyle incorporated modernity twist with the front part being extended and the back part shorter. Additionally, she had some cute short bangs, which clearly revealed her eyebrows and ultimately added up to her naivety in the film. The other discernible character in the movie is the widow, who is depressed and therefore a pink bow is usually seen in her curly orange hair. Amelie’s makeup draws the audience’s attention to her innocent deep gaze expressed by her quirky, wide beautiful eyes. Her eyes, however, have a slight temperament that ultimately adds up to her innocence. The only bold makeup is seen in her occasionally bright red lipstick. The Amelie’s red lipstick is in coherence with the bright colours depicted in the film as well as presenting her as a grown-up.

Staging/Blocking

Staging is least important as a contributor to the mise-en-scene in the film. However, the movement of the characters dictates their emotions and how they respond to different situations. For instance, Amelie saunters with a lot of cautious curiosity as she shows up in the grocer’s locked apartment where her lover works. Amelie shows much love for the new adventures and the surroundings of the apartment wholeheartedly. On the contrary, the “Glass Man” has no spirit of exploration as he moves around the apartment carefully and slowly. Despite his old age and fragility, the Glass Man stays inside the apartment and never leaves at all. From a broad perspective, the film has been captured using wide lenses, creating a deep depth of field to ensure that the crucial scenes are fully annexed. The most central aspect of interest is the wardrobe which is contrasted between Amelie’s wardrobe and Dominique Bradeutou’s. Amelie’s wardrobe is unique with bright colours while Bradeutou’s wardrobe is somehow dull, with a dark green suit jacket and an equally matched shirt. However, the audience is blocked from seeing the Glass Man’s feet, and the assumption is that he only wears slippers while walking around his apartment.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the close attention attributed to the Amelie film through setting, lighting, staging and costuming contributes to the mise-en-scene, which brings to life Amelie’s world. Arguably, the actress Audrey Tautou (Amelie) was the best fit for the position of leading in the film. Amelie’s curiosity and innocence are presented concurrently across the screen as well as her desire to help others, considering her movements and depiction in the movie. The other characters in the film are presented in a way that they would easily lure the audience to sympathize with them. For instance, Serge Merlin (The Glass Man) is a grandfather who allowed himself to be lovable and relatable. Any vigilant audience or viewer would feel the urge to reach out to him through the screen and embrace him with a hug.