rating represent half out of what a fun film . from the moment it begin and amelie burst with joy and energy . it a fable of sort and a love letter to a paris fondly dreamt of by many . it may not be the real world and but it be such a delightful fantasy that it doesn not matter how unbelievable some of it may be . amelie be the rare romantic comedy that have both the romance and the comedy . it isn not very surprising that this have be a hit in france for a while now and and i have no doubt it will find the audience it need in the state a well . amelie poulain ( audrey tautou ) be a nave girl work at the two windmill caf . when she be a child her mother and teacher be an innocent victim of a suicide go awry . amelie stayed with her father until she be old enough to leave and lead a life of her own . one day she find a small box of treasure behind a tile in her wall and she decide to return it to her owner and become a natural do gooder . later on and she catch a man grope for lose photo under a photo booth ( nino quincampoix and play by mathieu kassovitz ) and and it love at first sight . she decide to go on a quest to find this man and help anyone she can along the way ( include her father and co worker ) . i say before that this film be a love letter to paris and it be also a love letter to amelie herself . jean pierre jeunet ( director and co screenwriter ) conjure the film like a dream and a if amelie be his dream girl and he be try to save her and bring her to a happy end . it not hard to want everything to work out for her and her friend . amelie poulain be the kind of person who you wish be your best friend and your neighbor or your sister . she bounce along with good grace and whimsy live life to it full and yet keep a mischievous grin . she have her own idea of justice that isn not very disagreeable . the tormentor must in turn be torment while the lifeless must be bring to life . the film be like a non musical bell be ring and with our heroine bring so much life to those around her but neglect her want and need . after see audrey tautou a amelie and i can not possibly imagine anyone else in that role . she embody amelie like no one else could and she be a rare find that pull off the job of breathe life into amelie in spade . wait and i take that back . she do not just breathe life into amelie and tautou make her jump off the screen and pull the audience into the story . it would be a crime for her not to get a best actress nomination for her role . magical be the world that amelie live in and where photo and lamp come alive to aid her quest and where tv show be show nothing but her story . the story this setting surround be pretty standard and and present plainly could have just be another machine process romantic comedy . be it too sappy . no . on the contrary and the film take quite a few step to make sure it doesn not become tacky or conventional . the rich and storybook setting and a witty screenplay ( aside be take to deepen our connection each character and little thing that each like and dislike ) make the film all the more a delight to watch . the cinematography and craft by bruno delbonnel and do wonder for amelie . the camera capture the action with an eye of a child in a candy store and beautifully bring about each shot a a new discovery . with film like the widow of saint pierre and with a friend like harry and box office hit brotherhood of the wold and french cinema have have quite a year . it a delight that we round off the year with amelie and a fresh and funny journey that could have easily just be more meg ryan esque romantic comedy fodder . if not for anything else and see it for tautou performance and but prepare to be smother in a dream world .