The relation between cinematic female Christ-figures
and their transcendence
An analysis of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain from
two religious perspectives
Emile Haffmans
Hoogravenseweg 24
3523TL Utrecht
The Netherlands
+31624964221
E-mail address: [email protected]
Student number: 10095055 (6356230)
Supervisor: dr. Laura Copier
Second reader: dr. Catherine Lord
MA Thesis
Film Studies, University of Amsterdam
21st of June, 2013
Summary
Christ-figures and transcendentalism are two concept which both have their origins in theology. The
concept “Christ-figure” describes someone who resembles the life and ways of the historical Jesus
Christ. Transcendentalism, on the other hand, expresses the idea of someone or something being
beyond the material world. However, while deriving from theology, both concepts also play a role
within film studies. This is evident in the fact that within film there are multiple ways of portraying a
character as a Christ-figure, as well as the fact that a filmic style has the ability to suggest
transcendence.
This thesis seeks to connect the two concepts by analyzing Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001) from both perspectives. Additionally, this thesis has three goals
within this overarching aim. Firstly, it will discuss the methodology of (female) Christ-figure analyses
conducted in the past and argue for a more structured approach. Using Anton Kozlovic’s twenty-five
Christ-figure characteristics, a method for analysis is suggested. Secondly, this thesis will reflect on
Paul Schrader’s theory of transcendental style. By suggesting to use his three-step model as
interwoven layers rather than successive steps, this thesis aims to widen the narrow filmic scope of
Schrader’s theory. Thirdly, pointing out the fact that very little religious considerations of Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain exist, an attempt is made to close a knowledge gap surrounding the film.
Finally, it is pointed out that within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain a clear connection exists
between the concept of the Christ-figure and that of transcendentalism. This relation manifests itself in
the fact that they both draw on religious iconography.
Keywords
Female Christ-figures, transcendental style, transcendentalism, Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain,
Amélie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Paul Schrader, Anton Kozlovic, religion, Barry Salt, film analysis,
narrative analysis, statistical style analysis, gender roles, Jesus-figures
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Table of contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Chapter 1: Context, scholarly literature and religious considerations of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain .................................................................................................................................................. 12
1.1. The narrative of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain ............................................................. 12
1.2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s postmodern style........................................................................................ 14
1.3. Scholarly works considering Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain ......................................... 16
1.4. Religious considerations of the film ........................................................................................... 18
Chapter 2: Amélie as a female Christ-figure ......................................................................................... 20
2.1. Jesus-figures versus Christ-figures ............................................................................................. 20
2.2. The methodology of other Christ-figure analyses ...................................................................... 21
2.3. The characteristics of Christ-figures and their respective categories ......................................... 23
2.4. The analysis of Amélie as a female Christ-figure ...................................................................... 25
2.4.1. Using Kozlovic’s characteristics and the proposed categories ............................................ 26
Amélie’s social role and associates .......................................................................................... 26
Amélie’s spirituality and divinity ............................................................................................. 29
Amélie’s personality, conduct and appearance ........................................................................ 30
2.4.2. The cinematic style of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain as indicative of a Christfigure ............................................................................................................................................. 31
Voice-over narrator................................................................................................................... 32
Mise-en-scène and colors ......................................................................................................... 33
Cinematography ....................................................................................................................... 36
Chapter 3: Transcendental style in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain ........................................... 40
3.1. An introduction to transcendental style ...................................................................................... 40
3.2. Schrader’s model of transcendental style ................................................................................... 42
3.3. Schrader’s scope: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer and others................................................................... 44
3.4. The transcendental style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film ................................................................ 46
3.4.1. Barry Salt’s theory of statistical style analysis .................................................................... 47
3.4.2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain by the numbers ...................... 48
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3.4.3. The three color categories as indicative of Paul Schrader’s model ..................................... 52
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 55
Appendix A: Kozlovic’s twenty-five Christ-figure characteristics ....................................................... 58
Appendix B: Narrative structure and scene list ..................................................................................... 61
Vanderschelden’s breakdown of the film .......................................................................................... 62
Complete scene list of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain .......................................................... 63
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 121
Mediagraphy........................................................................................................................................ 123
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Introduction
The concept of transcendentalism is often perceived as quite vague and confusing. I recently tried to
explain the term to a family member who responded by asking me whether I meant “something like
Jeanne d’Arc”. The fact that someone who is unfamiliar with the word quickly associated the concept
it with the historical Jeanne d’Arc made me realize her significance in regard to the concept of
transcendentalism. Apparently someone who does not know the meaning of the term, but who is
familiar with the story of Jeanne d’Arc, is able to connect the two with each other.
The association by itself is not surprising, evident in the fact that the cinematic portrayal of the
story of Jeanne d’Arc has been analyzed from the perspective of transcendentalism before (see for
example Paul Schrader’s Transcendental Style In Film and Wright 2007). I myself recently wrote a
paper on the use of intertitles in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc (1928) as a way
of suggesting the (cinematic) transcendence of the protagonist. The intertitles, I argued, which in the
film substitute dialogue, disconnect Jeanne from reality, while on the other hand constitute Jeanne’s
interrogators as predominantly engaged in secular matters.
The concept of transcendentalism hails from both philosophy and theology. It seeks to express
our relation to reality and as a result to that which goes beyond reality. Within philosophy, the term
primarily refers to a nineteenth century movement which urged its followers to unthinking conformity
(Goodman) and to seek “an original relation to the universe”1. In contrast, within religion, the term is
used to describe what goes “beyond the limits of human knowledge, experience or reason, especially
in a religious or spiritual way” (“Transcendental”). It is thus often applied to define someone or
something as being – in a figurative sense – outside of this world or reality. The latter is the most
common definition of the concept and will be my focus in this thesis.
Subsequent to answering my family member’s question regarding the relation between Jeanne
d’Arc and transcendentalism, I stated that other significant examples of the concept come to mind.
Without hesitation, I affirmed Jesus Christ as a second example. This comment made me question the
nature of the transcendence of Jesus of Nazareth. What is it that makes Jesus transcendental? Certainly
his crucifixion and resurrection have this effect, but what about his day-to-day conduct, manners and
personality? For me, as a film academic, this question brought about more questions, such as: what
makes a cinematic Christ-figure – a person whose life and actions reflect those of the historical Jesus
Christ – transcendental and how do these two concepts relate? They both derive from the field of
theology, yet it is hard to – in a satisfactory manner – explain the cinematic overlap between them.
This thesis will consider this overlap and ask what the connection is between cinematic
(female) Christ-figures and what filmmaker Paul Schrader defines as a transcendental style. In order to
research this, I will consider Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001) from
1
Cited here is Ralph Waldo Emerson as done by Goodman. Original source unavailable at the time of writing.
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both religious perspectives (my choice of given film shall be explained further in this introduction).
Additionally, I have three subordinate aims, each constituting a chapter of my thesis.
Firstly, in chapter one, I will begin with a chapter situating this thesis within a broader field of
both non-academic work, as well as scholarly work. After contextualizing Le Fabuleux Destin
d’Amélie Poulain, as well as discussing the canonical academic works written about the film, I shall
point out the very few religious considerations of this movie. The aim of this chapter is thus to
position this thesis as an attempt to partly close an existing knowledge-gap (the lack of religious
considerations of the film) in regard to Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.
Secondly, in chapter two, I will conduct the first of two cinematic analyses of this thesis. This
analysis focuses on the cinematic Christ-figure. Research on cinematic Christ-figures had been
conducted before, as I will point out and evaluate at the beginning of this chapter. By reviewing two
examples, I will argue that these works often do not clearly define the criteria upon which the author
bases his or her argument. To some degree, they are therefore unable to conclusively constitute a
Christ-figure. My aim in this chapter is to review previously described characteristics of Christ-figures
and to propose categories which allow for a categorization of these characteristics. Drawing on
existing research by Anton Kozlovic, I will not only focus on religious aspects of depicting a Christfigure, such as the portrayal of prayer and spiritual practices. Rather, my point of interest lies in the
non-biblical ways of constituting a character as a Christ-figure, such as conduct and clothing.
Similar to how Melanie Wright suggests to think of religion as a “narrative-producing
mechanism” (Wright 4) and how Lloyd Baugh describes a parallel between the metaphoric nature of
religion and the metaphors of a Christ-figure (Baugh 109), one must look at the narrative surrounding
a character and consider whether signifiers of a religious subtext exist. With this in mind, I shall
suggest to subdivide Anton Kozlovic’s twenty-five Christ-figure characteristics into three categories:
“social role and associates”, “spirituality and divinity” and “personality, conduct and appearance”.
Subsequently, I will apply these three categories and their characteristics in order to constitute the
protagonist Amélie Poulain of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain as a Christ-figure. It is important
to note that due to the protagonist being female, this analysis will also take into account the role of
gender within the depiction of cinematic Christ-figures. Most importantly, a reversal of gender roles
can be noticed. While the historical Jesus Christ is commonly perceived to be male, a Christ-figure can
be of both genders.
Thirdly, in chapter three, I shall carry out the second of two cinematic analyses, now
concentrating on the concept of transcendentalism. Here, I shall turn to Paul Schrader’s model of
transcendental style and assess his filmic scope. Schrader is known to have developed a broadly
accepted theory which allows to describe transcendence in film, which is why I chose to use his work.
However, in contrast to Schrader focusing on a rather limited number of filmmakers, I will argue that
his focus is too restricted and that his model is usable in more stylistic analyses than he suggests.
Therefore, I seek to improve his model by applying it to an example of contemporary cinema. In
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contrast to Schrader’s model of three consecutive steps, each building towards a reference of
transcendence (which unfolds during the third step), I propose to think of the model as interwoven,
rather than successive. More specifically, I shall argue for these steps to be arbitrary, not manifesting
in a set order, but randomly. This suggestion will consequently allow for a broader application of the
theory. I shall use this altered version of Schrader’s model in order to demonstrate the existence of a
transcendental style within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, drawing on Barry Salt’s theory of
statistical style analysis to define the style of the film. The chapter will thus reflect on Schrader’s
model and seek to analyze whether his framework for transcendental film is still accurate for today’s
cinema.
Lastly, in the conclusion of this thesis, I will seek to explicitly connect the concept of the
cinematic Christ-figure and that of transcendence. Based on chapter two and three, I will discuss the
relation between the two concepts in film. This relation, I shall deduce, exists in the fact that both
concepts utilize religious iconography. I shall furthermore discuss the changes I propose in both the
method of cinematic Christ-figures analyses and the application of Schrader’s transcendental style
model.
At this point it is necessary to explain why I chose to analyze Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain. I focus on a single film, because this will allow me to describe the relation between the two
concepts more conclusively. Using multiple films would bring other factors into play, as I would have
to describe how these films are comparable in the first place. The selection was made based on the
theoretical aims of this thesis. I have defined my corpus as follows. The first criteria in the process of
selecting a film was that the film has to depict a protagonist whose aim in life is to do good. Instead of
this aim originating from spiritual motives, my focus lies rather on the secular ways of the main
character, placing an emphasis on his or her conduct. Furthermore, religion cannot be a core theme of
the movie. Rather, close analysis is needed in order to recognize the larger part of the movie’s
religious aspects. Lastly, the movie has to be considered a box-office hit (which is used here as a way
of referring to films which have had substantial commercial success) and must have been released
within the new millennium. Films from after the year 2000 are therefore, within this thesis, referred to
as contemporary.
Based on the above, this thesis will consider Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie
Poulain. Although this movie was not produced in Hollywood, this French romantic comedy was –
and perhaps still is – highly popular throughout the world. This is evident in, for example, the
numerous nominations and awards it received (Vanderschelden 87-88). Jeunet came up with the
narrative of this film in 1998 (17), but the film was not produced until 2001. This year subsequently
became an exceptional year for French cinema, with over 20 films reaching a million viewers (10-11).
Six financers showed their confidence in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain and invested a total of
76.58 million Francs – roughly twelve million dollars (19). The movie was received exceptionally well
and it became the most successful French film of the year. It had 8,85 million viewers in France and a
7
box office return of 130 million dollars (77-78). The film was met with several waves of media
attention, most importantly that surrounding its release in April 2001. The reviews at that time were
predominantly positive. It gained further media attention a few months later in an attempt to “try[] to
explain the atypical success of the film.” (79)
Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain tells the story of Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou), a
French girl living in Paris. In the consequence of losing her mother at a young age, Amélie grows up
living with her father in a suburb of the city. The young Amélie does not have any friends, a result of
the fact that she is homeschooled and kept separated from other kids. She spends her time in solitude,
her only company being her imaginary friends, brought about by her rich imagination. When old
enough to leave her parental home, Amélie moves to Montmartre, a neighborhood of Paris which
centers around the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur. She finds a job working at café Les Deux Moulins and
lives on her own in a small apartment close-by. On the evening that Lady Diana dies in a tragic car
crash, Amélie finds a small box hidden behind one the tiles of her bathroom wall, “that will change her
life forever” (00:14:07). This box contains toys and curiosities from a person who had previously lived
in that apartment. She tracks down the owner of the box, a now older man by the name of Dominique
Bretodeau (Maurice Bénichou), and returns it to him. As a result, he vows to reconcile with his
daughter and grandson. Amélie realizes the profound consequences of her small act of kindness and
decides to devote her life to doing good deeds. She escorts a blind man down a busy shopping street
making him feel like he is able to temporarily see again. Furthermore, she attempts to inspire her
father – who since the death of Amélie’s mother had hardly left the house – to go on a holiday. At her
workplace, Amélie tries to mediate a romance between one of her co-workers and a customer. In
addition, she stands up for Lucien (Jamel Debbouze), a worker at a local fruit and vegetable shop, who
is regularly bullied by his boss Collignon (Urbain Cancelier).
One day, while walking through the underground metro system, she sees a man her age
searching for discarded photographs around a photo booth. Intrigued by this, she follows him and
witnesses him losing one of his photo albums, which she picks up. Determined to return the album,
she quickly realizes she has feelings for the young man, whose name she finds out to be Nino
Quincampoix (Mathieu Kassovitz). Rather than returning the album directly, she begins a “scavenger
hunt” with him, leaving him small clues regarding how to find her (instead of the other way around).
While being unsure about her feelings for Nino, she turns to her ill stay-at-home neighbor Raymond
Dufayel (Serge Merlin), with whom she discusses the young man. One evening, as Nino figures out
the last piece of Amélie’s game, Dufayel encourages Amélie to allow Nino inside her apartment. Nino
spends the night with Amélie and a relationship between the two emerges.
This plot might be interpreted in many ways. Primarily, it is a story of love, evident in the fact
that the whole movie revolves around people giving love to each other or seeking love for themselves.
Amélie is an example of both, as she wants to improve the lives of others, while at the same time win
Nino’s love for herself. The neighbor Raymond Dufayel can be interpreted as an example of the
8
former, because he eventually encourages Amélie to let Nino into her apartment, as well as her heart.
Nino can be seen as an example of the latter, as he plays along in Amélie’s game which ultimately
leads to their romantic relationship. This theme of love is certainly not only visible in the narrative of
the film, but it is complemented by the soundtrack, skillfully composed by Yann Tiersen. It primarily
features classical, orchestral music, as well as popular classics such as Al Bowlly’s “Guilty”.
Furthermore, one must note that it cannot be a coincidence that the movie takes place in Paris, which
is stereotypically considered the city of love (the stereotypical representation of Paris in the film shall
play an important role in chapter one). Lastly, it is important to recognize the fact that the mise-enscène of the film (something I will explorer in depth later on as well) adds to this theme, as it features
rich, heavily saturated, warm coloring.
Based on the interpretation above, it can also be seen as a story about overcoming fears and
working towards a better self. During the introduction of the movie, young Amélie’s pet fish is
introduced as having a form of neurasthenia. 2 This anxiety can in fact be applied to all characters, as
they all can be said to have trouble stepping outside of their “comfort zone”. This theme initially
becomes evident during the opening scenes of the film, in which most characters are introduced by the
distinct voice-over narrator. The narrator tells the viewer the likes and dislikes of each character.
Examples are Amélie who likes skipping stones and Amélie’s mother who does not like it “when
someone she doesn’t like brushes against her hand” (00:04:23). Throughout the movie it furthermore
becomes clear that all of the characters have their own habits which they have trouble letting go off.
Prime examples are Amélie’s mother who is introduced as not being able to deal with Amélie’s
suicidal goldfish (perhaps, because she sees an image of herself in the fish), as well as Amélie’s father
who never leaves the house, but rather spends his time working in the garden. There he has been
building a memorial for Amélie’s mother ever since her death. Another example is Amélie’s neighbor
Raymond Dufayel, who is similarly unable to leave his house, albeit for medical reasons. He keeps
himself busy with painting, yet he does not attempt to paint anything else but the same painting every
year. The plot thus relies heavily on circularity, something more distinctively discussed in chapter
three.
In interpreting Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain it is of importance to consider the
complex structure of the movie. Although a large part of the movie is shown chronologically, the
movie features a great number of layers, each focusing on a different storyline (and most often
centering around one of Amélie’s good deeds). A consequence of this complex layering is the fact that
it becomes difficult to describe a single coherent structure. However, after having composed and
analyzed the complete list of scenes (included as appendix B), it becomes clear that the film does
2
“In general, nervous debility or weakness (cf. NERVOUSNESS); but usually employed in a more special sense
to indicate a pronounced degree and form of such weakness, with typical symptoms of a morbid character.”
(Green)
9
follow a three-act structure. This structure includes an exposition which leads to a turning point,
complications which result in the climax and an action which ends in a resolution (Pramaggiore and
Wallis 438). The turning point for Amélie is the moment she has the insight of attempting to devote
her life to helping those around her (scene 29), ending the introduction and initiating the main part of
the film. 3 The climax happens when the “game” between her and Nino is completed (scene 125), as
Amélie allows Nino into her apartment. Hereby all loose ends of the story get tied up.
This thesis will consider the relation between cinematic female Christ-figures and religious
transcendence in contemporary popular cinema. It will have the following structure. Chapter one will
discuss existing literature and discourses surrounding the movie. This chapter aims to contextualize
both the film and this thesis. Primarily, it will draw on Isabelle Vanderschelden’s book Amélie in order
to situate the film into a broader framework. Subsequently, I will discuss the scholarly works of
Frédéric Bonnaud, Catherine Wood, Elizabeth Ezra and Dudley Andrew to illustrate the types of
academic material written about the film. Lastly, the chapter will refer to two brief religious
considerations of the film in order to highlight the novelty of the perspectives from which this thesis
will analyze Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. One of these works is written under the initials
L.E.M.S. and discusses the asexuality of Amélie, the other is written on a blog by Kim Fabricius and
briefly mentions Amélie as a female Christ-figure. However, Fabricius does not expand on his
reasoning.
Following this, chapter two will focus on Amélie as a female Christ-figure. This chapter will
begin with a theoretical framework which allows for an analysis from this point of view. Several steps
will be taken within this framework. Firstly, it will discuss the ways in which certain terms are used
within this paper. It is, for example, of importance to explain the used definition of a Christ-figure – as
opposed to that of a Jesus-figure. For this, I shall draw on Lloyd Baugh’s Imaging the Divine: Jesus
and Christ-figures in Film. Secondly, I shall critically review the methodologies of the cinematic
Christ-figure analyses of Matthew McEver and Arnfríður Guðmundsdóttir. Here, I will argue that a
more systematic approach is needed. Thirdly, this chapter will outline possible characteristics of a
filmic Christ-figure using Anton Kozlovic’s “The Structural Characteristics of the Cinematic Christfigure”. Pointing out the fact that Kozlovic’s approach lacks structure, I will suggest three categories
into which these twenty-five characteristics can be filed. Based on these characteristics, the second
part of the chapter will present an analysis of the protagonist Amélie as a Christ-figure. Here, I will
show the importance of the way Amélie is introduced in the film, as well Amélie’s symbolic death
(scene 52). Although an emphasis exists on these two segments of the film, I shall turn to other scenes
to further support my argument. Lastly, I shall analyze the voiceover narration, the mise-en-scène and
the cinematography of the film in order to show what cinematic techniques add to this discussion.
3
Note that references to specific scene numbers are according to the scene list attached to this thesis as appendix
B.
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Among other things and most importantly, this will reveal the significance of religious iconography
within the portrayal of Amélie as a Christ-figure.
In the third chapter, I will examine the style of Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain as a
manifestation of cinematic transcendence in contemporary cinema. This chapter will be structured
similarly to chapter two. It will begin with a theoretical consideration of the term “transcendentalism”,
which primarily consists of an explanation of the different uses of the term. Following this, I shall
cover Paul Schrader’s work on filmic transcendental style. Schrader suggests a three-step model which
considers the style of a film as indicative of transcendence. I shall discuss his theory and cinematic
scope in order to argue for a broader application of his model. Subsequently, I shall turn to Le
Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. Here, positioning myself in a tradition started by Barry Salt, I will
statistically consider the style of the film. From this, I distinguish three color categories used in the
film, which will be connected to the three parts of Paul Schrader’s transcendental style model. I shall
thus argue that the style of the film consist largely of three types of coloring, which, after close
analysis, reveal the transcendental style of the film. Additionally, similar to chapter two, it will expose
the fact that religious iconography plays an important role within the depiction of transcendentalism in
this film.
Lastly, in the conclusion of this thesis I will draw a connection between both cinematic
concepts. What becomes evident is that in the analyses of both concepts – conducted in chapter two
and three – a draw on religious iconography exists. The conclusion will furthermore give an overview
of all three chapters, beginning with a summary of the literary considerations of the Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain in chapter one. Continuing with chapter two, the conclusion will also
recapitulate the way Amélie is constituted as a female Christ-figure. Following this, it will discuss
how contemporary cinema can still be interpreted using Schrader’s 40-year-old model of
transcendental film, as described in chapter three. Finally, I shall make several suggestions for further
research.
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Chapter 1: Context, scholarly literature and religious considerations of Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain
The overarching aim of this chapter is to contextualize the writing of this thesis. Within that aim, a
threefold goal exists. Firstly, I shall use Isabelle Vanderschelden’s book Amélie to discuss the
narrative of the film, as well as the distinct style that Jean-Pierre Jeunet implemented into the film –
with its use of mise-en-scène, special effects, computer-generated imagery (CGI) and voice-over
narration. Some of these considerations will be discussed in depth within the second and third chapter
of this thesis. However, my aim at this point is to give a brief overview of the film and its context,
which will allow further investigations to be placed in context.
Secondly, I shall briefly discuss four noteworthy scholarly essays which consider Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain, to illustrate perspectives from which the film has been analyzed. Lastly, I
shall refer to a few brief religious considerations of the film to argue for the novelty of this essay.
1.1. The narrative of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
Within this paragraph, I shall discuss the narrative of the film, drawing on Vanderschelden’s Amélie.
She distinguishes twelve main parts of the film (please refer to appendix B for a breakdown of these
parts, as well as my own scene list) (Vanderschelden 30). 4 According to her, the discovery of
Dominique Bretodeau signifies the most important turning point and the entire narrative is triggered
by cause and effect relationship, a form of chance and destiny (30). All characters are linked by a
“question for personal identity and place within the local community” (32) and Amélie is in the film
identified with red and green colors, as well as a musical theme and “simple, sensory, pleasures, which
are difficult to represent cinematically” (33).
The 20 minute prologue introduces the viewer to the tone of the film. With its omniscient
narrator (heard throughout the movie), this introduction fulfills several functions. It covers a time
period of 24 years, introducing the viewer to Amélie, her relationship with her parents and her
childhood. With over 300 shots, its voice-over narration, fast pace and distinct coloring it captures the
viewer’s attention (34). It thus contextualizes the film, as well as the world of Amélie and Jeunet’s
filmic style. It also introduces some of the film’s main motifs, which help the viewer identify with
other characters (34). The characters of the film seem to live in a timeless world, even though dates
and times are named by the voiceover narrator, which conveys a nostalgic retro feeling to the viewer
(35).
4
In my opinion, Vanderschelden presents a far too simplistic summary of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain’s narrative. As my scene list makes clear, the narrative is both complex and layered. While her twelve
point summery of the narrative might be useful in order to summarize the film extremely briefly, these points do
not suffice for an academic consideration of the film.
12
This nostalgic feeling is orchestrated by the colors of the film, the musical score, the film’s use
of recycled audiovisual material and the presentation of a stereotypical and fictional French world,
which takes place in a small community: metro stations, cafés, local grocery shops and the small
streets of Montmartre. Time and space are furthermore characterized by circularity, firstly illustrated
by introducing characters with their likes and dislikes (35). This is also expressed in the behavior of
the characters: Amélie visits her father every weekend, Raymond Dufayel paints the same painting
every year, Lucien makes rounds visiting local customers of Collignon’s vegetable shop, Nino is
regularly seen searching pieces of photographs and Joseph is at Les Deux Moulins almost every day
(35-36). In sum, while the space and time seems to be authentic, suggested by the precise naming of
dates and times, the characters live in a timeless bubble, in which they turn to small pleasures and live
a life characterized by routine (36).
In regard to genre, Amélie’s narrative seems to be based on multiple genres (36). It draws
heavily on Hollywood conventions, but at the same time uses features of French cinema and its Poetic
Realism, characterized by “witty dialogue, use of popular stars, sense of detail, and outstanding set
reconstructions” (37). It can furthermore be recognized as a modern fable, “along the traditional lines
of a quest for love and happiness” (36). Additionally, there are many surrealists elements in the film,
such as the literal representations of several metaphorical expressions (‘being love struck’, ‘seeing the
light’ and ‘melting into tears’), the animation of objects, paintings coming to life, a photograph
interacting with its owner and superimposed images displaying thoughts. “Yet, while the world of
Amelie is magical, its plot is not supernatural. It is a world filled with wonders, where everything
seems possible” (39). 5 I shall briefly come back to this fusion of genres in paragraph 1.2.
Recurring motifs in the film are confinement, loss, loneliness and solidarity. There are also
numerous references to boxes (the box of Bretodeau, phone booths, photo frames, camera and a
coffin) (40), as well as mirrors and windows (50). Both of these convey a sense of in here and out
there. “They translate Amélie’s fear of confronting the outside world” (40). Amélie’s interference in
the lives of others, conveyed for a large part by the loneliness motif, can also be read from a moral
viewpoint, which seems to be the opposite of the general message of love and kindness of the film.
There is little consideration of privacy in the film and often it seems that Amélie’s kindness is mostly
for her own benefit (41).
Lastly, the film may be said to position Amélie as an “iconic” character (41). She is
characterized by a bob haircut and distinct costumes, which help convey the retro feeling of the film.
More importantly, while she is 23 years old, she shows many signs of immaturity. There seems to be a
“refusal to enter the adult world” as she favors “playful activities and instant pleasures”, such as
5
Note that Vanderschelden refers to the film itself as Amelie (the American title of the film), while referring to
the character as Amélie (note the difference in font and the use of an acute accent). I, on the other hand, refer to
the person as Amélie, but use the full French title to speak of the film.
13
playing games (43). Therefore, there is a duality visible: she is both feminine and childlike. She “is a
reassuring image of innocence” (45).
1.2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s postmodern style
Other than the complex, layered structure, the film displays a distinct filmic style, which draws heavily
on color, specific mise-en-scène, special effects (CGI) and voice-over narration. In the past, Jeunet has
expressed three key influences in his style: the work of Sergio Leone and Stanley Kubrick, as well as
animation (47-48). All three influences are visible in Jeunet’s own films. Vanderschelden quotes
Jeunet saying that images hold priority over dialogue and that shots must be composed similar to
paintings (48).
This is, for example, visible in the composition of the film, which uses a wide variety of
lenses, predominantly to “exaggerate the distance between foreground and background planes, making
the sets look more imposing” (49). Long focal lengths are used for scenes in which characters look
through binoculars and crane shots are employed to “enhance the impression of isolation” (Image 1).
“More generally, the camerawork illustrates a playful approach to filmmaking, reinforcing the lighthearted, cartoon-like tone of the film.” (49) The cinematography “fully participate in the success of the
film. They are at once innovative and effective” (50). However, it also becomes clear that the film
relies heavily on image manipulation, in which effects are added onto the film during post-processing.
It therefore holds a strong connection to digital technology, evident throughout the film. (50)
Image 1: Amélie’s isolation through perspective. (01:44:07)
Continuing with perhaps the most important element of the film in light of my thesis (which will
become clear predominantly in chapter three): the use of color. It has been pointed out that the film
heavily uses manipulation and grading of color, which are argued to convey the happy atmosphere of
the film. Often, colors contrast each other, such as the use of black and white, as well as sepia tones,
which both contrasts the “regular” saturated color palette of the film and signals moment of intrusion
14
into the intimacy of the characters, such as during flashbacks (51). The dominant colors in the film are
red and green, as well as yellow. The three are contrasted in shots in order to guide the viewer’s eyes.
At such moments, red is used to put an emphasis on something, whereas green is used to express
different moods (52). These colors add to “the cartoon and fairytale atmosphere” (53) of the film and it
produces “poetic, magical and symbolic effects, masking the boundaries between fantasy and the real
world. [...] By mixing sepia and saturated hues, it also blurs temporal markers, and favours a sense of
timelessness often associated with postmodern cinema.” (54)
Other than a distinctive use of colors, there is also a characteristic use of computer-generated
imagery (CGI) and mechanical effects. The latter, using mechanical solutions to achieve a certain
movement of objects, is applied 15 times in the movie (55). Examples are the table cloth “dancing” in
the wind and the perfume bottle cap which loosens one of the tiles in Amélie’s bathroom (both shown
in the introduction). The use of CGI, on the other hand, is used mainly for (3D) animations, such as
the imaginary crocodile during the introduction of the movie. There are 6 of these animations in the
movie, as well as 5 CGI objects or signs (such as Amélie’s “sacred heart” - discussed later on) and 3
morphings/warpings (56-57). The style of the film thus presents a combination of mechanical
solutions and digital editing, and they provide answers to narrative requirements (for example the
visual representation of Amélie’s loneliness through a 3D CGI animation of a crocodile, a product of
Amélie’s imagination). (56)
The use of sound in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain has a few distinct characteristics.
Firstly, considering the dialogue, “communication is not the forte of most of the characters in Amelie”
(60). Amélie seems to loses the ability to properly converse in key moments. The dialogue is
characterized mostly by humor and “it brings secondary characters to life” (60), evident in distinctive
accents and manners of speaking. In sum, the dialogue is in line with the tradition of Poetic Realism,
described earlier. Connected to the dialogue is the role of the narrator. The narrator has an omniscient
position, evident in the fact that he informs the viewer of personal thoughts and feelings. However, he
is at times not reliable, due to the fact that “he seems to have a vested interest in the well-being and
happiness of the character” (61). The overarching role of the narrator is to link scenes, sequences and
situations. Vanderschelden therefore refers to him as a “God figure”. (61)
The music of Le Fabuleux Destin D’Amélie Poulain has several functions. Firstly, it illustrates
Amélie’s emotions and feelings, as well as her ability to go where she feels needed (63). Secondly, the
music further conveys the sense of nostalgia, as Jeunet used classics such as the aforementioned
“Guilty”. Thirdly, Yann Tiersen’s style of music can best be categorized as postmodern, evident in the
fact that he draws on many different musical styles. This echoes the postmodern visual features of the
film, as explained earlier. Continuing with the sound effects of the film, three uses can be
distinguished. Firstly, diegetic background noises punctuate the film, they bring depth to scenes (the
steaming of coffee in Les Deux Moulins, for example) (64). This is opposed by non-diegetic sounds,
which “highlight the playfulness of the film and its collage structure” (64). An example of the latter is
15
the use of sounds when Amélie reads the letter of Madeleine Wallace (scene 97), which is
complemented by sounds of the places she is reading about. Lastly, “there are times [...] when sound
effects become fully integrated into the narrative, clarifying the action”. (65) An example of this is
what Vanderschelden calls a “whooshing” sound, to signify movement and the speeding up of the
narrative. Concluding, sound in the film plays an important role and it “fully contributes to the
construction of the distinctive atmosphere associated with the film.” (65)
Lastly, in light of the discussion of academic works below, it is important to introduce the
often discussed representation of Paris in the film. The film presents a fictional version of Montmartre,
cleaned of any litter and graffiti (70). Large parts of the film take place in the homes of the characters.
These homes link the residents and present a version of the Parisian neighborhood as a small
community (68). Similarly, train stations are used as places of transit, but also function as a meeting
place for Amélie and Nino. “[T]hey symbolise Amélie’s increasing mobility across the capital, as the
game of hide-and-seek between her and Nino develops” (69). Most importantly, the film conveys a
contradiction between filming on location and image manipulation: by filming on-location it conveys
a sense of authenticity, yet the post-processing of the images and the alterations made to the locations
contradict this authenticity. This prevents a realistic representation of the city. (71)
1.3. Scholarly works considering Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
Apart from Vanderschelden’s book about the film, which presents itself rather as a guide to fully
understand and contextualize the film, there are academic articles written about the film and its
surrounding discourses. It must be noted that Vanderschelden’s book provides an excellent contextual
background for these articles, as they draw on topics discussed in the book (or rather the other way
around).
“The Amélie Effect”, written by film critic Frédéric Bonnaud, is an example of such an article.
It begins with a reference to why the film was not represented at the Cannes Film Festival, after which
it continues with a discussion of the “Kaganski controversy”. 67 It is in this that the real aim of the
article becomes clear. Bonnaud, an Inrockuptibles colleague of Serge Kaganski (Bonnaud 37), wishes
to support (what Bonnaud calls) Kaganski’s anger over the film, and so he discusses the stereotypical
representation of France in the film, calling the film “thin” and a film “that never stops reassuring that
6
The movie was not permitted into the selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was screened by a committee,
but due to the fact that it was not finished at the time, the committee decided not the allow it (even if it would
finish in time). Jeunet was later offered a special public screening of the film during the festival, but declined this
offer (Vanderschelden 82-83)
7
Movie critic Serge Kaganski published an open letter about the film in magazine Libération, expressing a
critique of the cinematic style of the film (in particular about the aesthetics of the film and its questionable
representation of France). This unleashed a chain of reactions, both in favor of Kaganski’s views and against it.
This debate later became known as the “Kaganski controversy” (Vanderschelden 83-84).
16
it’s on their side, taking them firmly by the hand and leading them... well, nowhere really.” (38) In the
final paragraph he concludes by stating what he believes lead to the success of the film: reconciliation.
“The reconciliation of France with itself, with its past and its past values, and with the idea that the
neighborhood is the sole desirable horizon (and between you and me, the only place where we’ll be
safe and sound). [...] Amélie’s triumph is the result of reflexive nationalism of ‘the sacred union’: let
us all stand united behind our common folklore and iconography” (39).
Similarly, “Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice: Amélie”, written by Catherine Wood at
Melbourne University, focuses on a different common criticism of the film: it’s overly sweet
atmosphere, which Wood calls “saccharine rather than sweet, gimmicky rather than quirky, and
calculating rather than magical.” (Wood 163) After giving a brief outline of the film and its context,
her arguments, in sum, revolve around the fact that every bit of Amélie’s kindness seems calculated –
predominantly for personal gain and to get the audience to like her. It is therefore not a story of charm,
but rather of affection, Wood claims (164). “At all times, the carefully constructed quaintness of
Amélie [...] robs the film of genuine enchantment.” (164) She continues by stating that the distinction
between “self-serving” and altruism becomes blurred and that Amélie is “swept away by her own
good feeling on doing a good deed” (165), which illustrates the personal benefit she has from doing
good. According to Wood, this calculated altruism echoes “Jeunet’s total control of the mise en
scène”, which creates not a magical world but a manufactured one (167). The whole film becomes in
Wood’s words an advertisement for a traditional French product.
Elizabeth Ezra, a professor in Cinema Studies at the University of Stirling, published an article
called “The Death of an Icon: Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain”. Ezra begins with a reference to
Serge Kaganski, but quickly turns her article into a discussion about the representation of media icons
in the film. Her argument revolves around the fact that, according to Ezra, the film favors direct
contact over contact through representation. Drawing on a theory by Walter Benjamin, as well as
references to André Bazin, she examines the functioning of an icon (Ezra 303): one imagines an
imaginary relationship “as a substitute for relations with real people” (303). In the film, these icons are
mediated and, when Amélie sees her own death on television, it is indicated that she identifies with
these media icons (304). After a short consideration of both the use of media (such as Nino’s archival
urges, portrayed in his collection of discarded photos), as well as the functioning of time (which, as I
have discussed before, seems to revolve around a timelessness), Ezra concludes: “Amélie is a film that
brings people together, both with the diegesis and beyond” (308). “The film seems to be against
iterability, against iconicity” (309), as it favors “to preserve the absolute, unrepresentable singularity
of the encounter by refusing to mediate it, that is, by refusing to turn it into a media event.” (309) She
finishes with an explanation of the title of her work, stating that Amélie herself has become a familiar
icon and that although it seems that the film suggests the birth of an icon, “it ultimately (if knowingly)
reproduces a cliché” (309).
17
Lastly, I wish to discuss Dudley Andrew’s “Amélie, or Le Fabuleux Destin du Cinéma
Français”. Andrew is a professor of comparative literature at Yale University. Perhaps it is therefore
not surprising that his article discusses the role of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain in the history
of French cinema. Andrew’s focus lies on a comparison of the film to other French films, film styles
and clear influences in the film of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While Andrew seems to be slightly more
positive about the film than, for example, Frédéric Bonnaud, he does speak of the “make-up” of the
film (Andrew 34), referring to the manipulation of images by Jeunet. His work focuses on a
comparison with New Wave cinema (35), as well as Poetic Realism (38), both mentioned earlier by
Vanderschelden. He furthermore considers the work of François Truffaut. In relation to Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain, Andrew states that Truffaut’s work displays both similarities and differences
(and whose 1962 Jules et Jim is briefly shown in the film) (41). Furthermore, the title of the film is a
reference to Sacha Guitry’s film Le Destin Fabuleux de Désirée Clary, released in 1942. Andrew
concludes by saying that he wishes French cinema would not apply so much “make-up”: “From my
perspective, French cinema has been most compelling and complex when, as in Jules et Jim, it both
acknowledges and strips away its makeup” (45), explaining the goal of his comparison.
Interesting to note is the fact that the academic reception of the film is clearly less positive
than the media attention the film was given, briefly discussed in the introduction of this thesis. 8
Perhaps this is explainable through the fact that the media attention relied heavily on the importance of
the film for the French film industry (especially in 2001), whereas the negative academic reception
focuses on the film’s production contexts and filmic strategies. Regardless, there is an interesting
contradiction between the two, which at the same time shows the limited academic consideration of
the film, as most works focus on the same topics: the nostalgic feeling of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain, as well as its representation of the French.
1.4. Religious considerations of the film
To position this thesis not only in regard to Vanderschelden’s Amélie and scholarly works on
“general” discourses surrounding the movie, I shall lastly refer to the two brief religious
considerations of the film. The first and definitely most extensive reference to any religious
connotations of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, is an online blog article named “The Theology
of Amelie”. This article was written in two parts semi-anonymously under the initials L.E.M.S. by a
doctoral candidate in Women’s Studies in Religion at Claremont Graduate University. Although the
title of the roughly three page long article suggests an exploration of theological elements in the film,
it is at the heart of the article about the asexuality of Amélie in a world of sexual references. Although
8
I have discussed the canonical scholarly works surrounding the film. Gerwin van der Pol aimed to do the same,
as well as comment on the different positions within the debates. See: Gerwin van der Pol - The Fabulous
Destination of a Cultural Tourist in Paris (2004).
18
asexuality is often interpreted as an identifier of religion, an effect of the fact that Jesus never engaged
in any sexual activities (Kozlovic 12), the article does not provide any insight into other religious
aspects of the film. Rather, L.E.M.S. states “Amelie is the only one who seems to not like sex. [...] She
is aware of sex happening all around her and seems to feel neither longing nor adversely about it,
simply slight curiosity and amusement.” (L.E.M.S., “The Theology of Amélie, Part 1.”) Part two of
the article continues (and finishes) with an analysis of the world Amélie lives in: “Amelie grows up in
a world where she longs for intimacy. [...] The childhood that lacks intimacy is ultimately replaced by
an adult world she doesn’t quite fit into either: one that privileges certain sexual and romantic
practices” (L.E.M.S., “The Theology of Amélie, Part 2.”).
Secondly, there is a brief reference to Amélie as a Christ-figure on the website “Faith and
Theology”, in a blog post by Kim Fabricius, a minister at Bethel United Reformed Church in Swansea,
Wales. Fabricius lists twelve cinematic Christ-figures, Amélie being number twelve on the list. A few
things are interesting to note. Firstly, this is the only existing reference to Amélie as a Christ-figure.
Secondly, Fabricius lists a few criteria upon which he based his selection. These criteria include “The
character transcends his/her/its surroundings” and “the character cannot be biblical” (Fabricius).
Interesting about this is the fact that here, Fabricius already suggests a connection between Christfigures and transcendentalism, something I will draw upon in the following chapters. Furthermore, he
suggests Amélie’s non-biblical nature, which closely connects to the definition of my corpus, as stated
in the introduction. Thirdly, I wish to point out that Fabricius also lists E.T., as well as Babe (the pig)
on this list. This illustrates the universality of Christ-figures, something I will explorer in depth in
chapter two.
Other than this, I was unable to find any theological or religious interpretations of Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain. In sum, by outlining some of Vanderschelden’s main considerations of the
film and by examining scholarly works and the few religious interpretations that exist of the film, I
wish to contextualize both the film and this thesis as interpreting the film from two new religious
points of view: Amélie as a female Christ-figure and the style of the film as suggestive of what Paul
Schrader calls a transcendental style. Chapter two will begin with an exploration of the former, while
chapter three will focus on the latter. After this, I shall conclude which religious aspects can be
distinguished in the film and what can be said about the suggested relation between cinematic Christfigures and transcendentalism.
19
Chapter 2: Amélie as a female Christ-figure
Chapter two will focus on the possibility of Amélie as a female Christ-figure. I will start by discussing
the existing literature on the topic, which will allow for a description of both a definition of the term,
as well as scholarly examples of similar analyses. Important to note, as concluded in chapter one, is
the fact that no academic research exists in the field of film and religion which considers Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain. The literature discussed in this chapter is an illustration of ways in which
Christ-figure analyses can be conducted. It is therefore only significant in regards to its methodology.
Firstly, I shall refer to several important, but problematic examples of analyses which, in my
opinion, are methodologically insufficient. Following this, a suggestion will be made as to how the
characteristics of a female Christ-figure can be defined. Here, a suggestion of possible categories in
which these characteristics can be filed will be made. This will describe the necessary conditions of
establishing a Christ-figure.
2.1. Jesus-figures versus Christ-figures
It is foremost of importance to define the concept of the Christ-figure and the way I will use it within
this thesis. This term is often considered in relation to the concept of the Jesus-figure. However, the
difference between the two is at times confusing.
One book which offers a satisfactory solution to this confusion is Lloyd Baugh’s Imaging the
Divine: Jesus and Christ-figures in Film, published in 1997. A thorough examination of the cinematic
Jesus- and Christ-figure was at the time of writing nonexistent and Baugh, who has a vast knowledge
of the gospels due to his Jesuit background (Baugh v), is able to extensively research the two concepts
within cinema. The book is divided into two parts. The first part, which consists of six chapters, deals
with the cinematic Jesus-figure, a character which portrays a direct representation of the historical
Jesus Christ. This figure is most often seen in films which aim to give a literal portrayal of the life of
Jesus of Nazareth. Baugh seems to have two aims within this part of the book. First, he tries to present
a chronologically historical exploration of the Jesus-figure in film, evident is the fact that the first
chapter is called “The Early Years” (7). Furthermore, Baugh aims to discuss the films according to
how well they portray the story of Jesus of Nazareth, in ascending order. This bundle of chapters
ultimately shows that no perfect representation of Jesus can exist in film (109), or at least does not
exist at the time of writing. This is a consequence of the fact that filmmakers face an enormous
amount of choices which might please some viewers, but which will inevitably upset others.
The second part of the book analyzes the filmic Christ-figure. Again, a distinctive aim can be
noticed within the chapters: Baugh argues for the universality of the “figurative or metaphorical
approach” (viii) of representing Jesus Christ. This figure presents itself as an alternative to the literal
representation. Rather, it refers to the life and ways of Jesus in a character, presenting this character as
possessing (some of) the qualities and characteristics of the biblical Jesus of Nazareth. It thus becomes
20
important to consider the connotations of a character, at times referred to as the “holy subtext”
(Kozlovic 3). The universality of this approach of representing Jesus is evident in the fact that Baugh
discusses not only different movies in this part of the book, but also different genres (Baugh 157) and
several filmmakers. In addition, Baugh considers different types of characters as Christ-figures, such
as female protagonists (113) – an alternative to the commonly assumed male Jesus Christ.
After its publication in 1997, the novelty of this approach allowed scholars to seek
representations of Jesus Christ in a much wider range of films. It proved the possibility of female
Christ-figures within cinema, something of great value to such fields as theology, film studies and
gender studies. Before defining the characteristics of Christ-figures upon which I will base my own
analysis, I shall discuss two articles which apply this proposed examination of the “holy subtext”, but
which, as I will argue, are methodologically unsatisfactory.
2.2. The methodology of other Christ-figure analyses
The article “The Messianic Figure in Film: Christology Beyond the Biblical Epic”, written by
Matthew McEver and published in The Journal of Religion and Film of the University of Nebraska
Omaha in 1998, proposes the possibility of analyzing Christ-figures in film genres “outside of the
biblical spectacular” (McEver 1). It is here that the concept of the Christ-figure shows its relevance:
the ability to portray a person who lives his or her life in resemblance with that of Jesus Christ, but
who does not represent the historical figure Jesus Christ directly. Similar to Baugh’s conclusions,
McEver claims that movies which aim to historically depict the life of Jesus Christ are often mediocre
and unsatisfactory (2), which consequently allowed for “an alternative manifestation: the Messianic
figure in film” (2). This “Messianic figure”, McEver argues, can be recognized according to a pattern:
“the central character is a non-conformist or unlikely redeemer who transformers the lives and
ultimately undergoes martyrdom” (1). The term “Christ” hails from the Greek “cristos”, which means
“anointed”. “It is the equivalent of the word mashiach, or Messiah, in Hebrew.” (“Christos”). What
McEver defines as a “Messianic figure” is therefore what both Baugh and I refer to as a Christ-figure.
In his analysis, McEver turns to Cool Hand Luke (1967), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
(1975), Dead Poets Society (1989) and Sling Blade (1997) to illustrate the functioning of the pattern.
With regard to McEver’s essay, I would argue that he does not define this pattern very thoroughly.
Rather, after having shown how “Jesus-films” allowed the manifestation of films which revolves
around a “Messianic-figure”, McEver presents a short analysis of four films which display this pattern.
In other words, he uses manifestations of the pattern to validate the pattern as an indicator for a Christfigure. This does not provide a solid foundation for further research, as he does not clearly define the
importance of the movies in his corpus, nor why he takes this narrative pattern he distinguishes as the
main indicator of a Christ-figure. Therefore, the theoretical validity of this assumption is questionable,
as it does not allow for a depiction of a Christ-figures in other movies, movies which do not
necessarily display McEver’s narrative pattern. The theoretical scope of the essay is too narrow.
21
A similar problem exists in the article “Female Christ-figures in Films: a Feminist Critical
Analysis of Breaking the Waves and Dead Man Walking”, written by Icelandic feminist scholar
Arnfríður Guðmundsdóttir in 2010. Guðmundsdóttir builds and reflects on McEver’s narrative pattern
early in the article, but states that she does “not wish to present either a perfect or exhaustive definition
of Christ-figures” (Guðmundsdóttir 29). Rather, Guðmundsdóttir uses two main criteria for depicting a
Christ-figure. Firstly, “a character does not have to be exactly like Christ in all details” (29) and
secondly, “a Christ-figure does have to have a credible allusion to the person of Christ or his
message.” (29) She continues by stating that movies which depict Christ-figures do not necessarily
belong to the same genre. Rather, Guðmundsdóttir argues, they share characteristics which can be
recognized in each genre: “Christ-figures can also differ in terms of age, sex, race, as well as class”
(29). However, she does not discuss what these characteristics are.
Essentially, what Guðmundsdóttir does is pave the way for analyses of female Christ-figures
which do not portray Jesus Christ, but which do directly refer to his life and ways. In what follows,
Guðmundsdóttir presents two film analyses in which she distinguishes a female Christ-figure: Lars
von Trier’s Breaking the Waves (1996) and Tim Robbin’s Dead Man Walking (1995). Guðmundsdóttir
states that within Breaking the Waves protagonist Bess can be seen as a “perfect” Christ-figure,
because of several reasons. Firstly, “Bess incarnates fully the unselfish love that does not seek its
own” (34). Secondly, Bess is an outsider due to the fact that she “counters the values and norms of
society” (34). Lastly, Guðmundsdóttir points out that Bess acts in the will of God, as “Jan’s will is in
fact God’s will” (34).
Similarly, within the analysis of Dead Man Walking, a movie about “a Roman Catholic nun
who becomes acquainted with a death-row inmate” (35) as a spiritual counselor, Guðmundsdóttir tries
to establish protagonist Sister Helen (Susan Sarandon) as a female Christ-figure. Again, several
reasons are pointed out, the most important being the fact that Sister Helen specifically states that she
“understands her work as imitatio Cristi”, or in other words: “trying to follow the example of Jesus”
(38). When the last hour of the inmate strikes, Sister Helen effectively “becomes the voice of God, and
the face of love, representing Christ to the criminal facing his judgement” (38), Guðmundsdóttir states.
These two short summaries show the important fact that Guðmundsdóttir turns only to the
religious elements (Bess acting in God’s will and Sister Helen understanding her work as imitatio
Cristi) of a narrative to depict a Christ-figure. This is unsatisfactory and like McEver’s theory rather
narrow, because a person who is not involved with religion in any way can, according to
Guðmundsdóttir’s method, therefore never be a Christ-figure. Guðmundsdóttir does state that a
character has to have a “credible allusion” to Jesus’ message, yet in her analyses this seems to be
restricted to religious conduct. In line with the fact that Guðmundsdóttir points out that it is not her
aim to present an all-embracing definition, the theoretical basis of her text is therefore inadequate for
my purpose of presenting general characteristics upon which the analysis of a female Christ-figure can
be based, as well as categories to file these characteristics.
22
2.3. The characteristics of Christ-figures and their respective categories
I am not arguing that the given Christ-figure characteristics by McEver and Guðmundsdóttir cannot be
of use while trying to distinguish a Christ-figure within film. Rather, I am trying to argue that they are
incomplete and that a different approach is needed. Most likely from this perspective (although
Guðmundsdóttir’s article was written later), Anton Kozlovic published, in the fall issue of the Journal
of Religion and Popular Culture of 2004, his article “The Structural Characteristics of the Cinematic
Christ-figure”. With regard to Christ-figures, Kozlovic states: “Now is the time to begin that important
task of recovery, discussion and the construction of an evaluative criterion.” (Kozlovic 7). In what
follows, Kozlovic points out twenty-five “structural characteristics of the cinematic Christ-figure” (8),
explained by him to be used as a checklist (7). These characteristics are presented in a seemingly
random order.
Precisely because of the disorganized structure of Kozlovic’s work, I suggest that the twentyfive characteristics found by Kozlovic can be categorized according to the following three categories:
“social role and associates”, “spirituality and divinity” and “personality, conduct and appearance”. It is
true that some characteristics may fit into two categories, such as the fact that a Christ-figure
undergoes some form of sacrifice – which can be categorized as both a spiritual characteristic, as well
as a form of conduct. To avoid such problems, I have chosen to prioritize the second category for two
reasons. Firstly, similar to how Kozlovic calls a resurrection the “ultimate Christic identifier” (15),
divinity is a stronger indicator of a Christ-figure than a mere form of conduct. Secondly, I assigned
them to the second category in order to balance out the number of characteristics in each category as
much as possible. Personally, I would argue for the fact that each of the three categories must be
represented within a cinematic Christ-figure analysis, as to not present a rather narrow theoretical
consideration of the concept within one’s work. However, this has to be understood as a suggestion,
rather than a strict criterion.
The first category, “social role and associates”, contains characteristics which describe a
Christ-figure’s role within society, as well as other figures he or she is surrounded by. 9 Included in this
category are the following characteristics. Often times, Christ-figures have twelve associates which
represent the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, as well as a betrayer associate, a representation of Judas
(13). Furthermore, there is often a sexually identified woman (or man), similar to Mary Magdalene in
the story of Jesus (13), as well as a “John the Baptist-figure who identifies and/or points the way to the
Christ-figure” (14), which may or may not go hand-in-hand with a (symbolic) baptism of the Christfigure. In light of the social role of the Christ-figure, Kozlovic suggests that the Christ-figure is often
in “service to ‘lesser’, sometimes ungrateful others”, explained as “’lesser’ worthiness, ability, talent,
power” (16). This, Kozlovic points out, “is usually done with honesty, sincerity and nobility” (16).
Furthermore, a Christ-figure might be referred to by literally being called God or Jesus, for example in
9
Refer to appendix A for a full, numbered overview of Kozlovic’s characteristics.
23
exclamations such as “Oh God!” or “Jesus!” (20). Additionally, a Christ-figure’s death or sacrifice
“results in a triumphal victory, even if it seems a Pyrrhic victory at the time” (16). In other words: the
consequences of the death of a Christ-figure are beneficial to the (resurrected) Christ-figure, to others
or to the society as a whole. Lastly, Christ-figures are often outsiders of society, “vaguely defined as
from ‘above’ or ‘beyond’ or ‘out there’ and thus they are in the world but not of the world” (10).
Furthermore, they are often surrounded by poverty, something “rendered as either a lack of wealth, or
the troubling question of what to do with money if available”, a reflection of Jesus Christ’ poverty
(19).
The second category, “spirituality and divinity”, includes four of Kozlovic’s characteristics,
which makes it the smallest category. Firstly, Kozlovic points out that a Christ-figure is often
“divinely sourced and tasked” (11). What Kozlovic means by this, is the fact that Christ-figures are
often “sent” by a kind of God-figure, which may or may not task them with something. Secondly, a
Christ-figure is at times depicted as being able to perform miracles, similar to Jesus who, for example,
was supposedly able to walk on water. Important to note is the fact that these miracles can also be
interpreted as being a sign of an anti-Christ (18): someone who is not a Christ-figure at all, but who is
still able to perform miracles. Thirdly, a Christ-figure undergoes some form of “decisive death and
resurrection” (15), which usually involves “bloodshed, suffering and death” (15). Christ-figures
frequently die – similar to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ – only to be resurrected later. Lastly, A
Christ-figure often consciously chooses to sacrifice his- or herself “out of their newfound knowledge,
status, position, mission requirements, etc.” (16).
The third category, “personality, conduct and appearance”, includes the characteristics which
describe the character itself more directly. This includes both external characteristics, such as clothing,
and internal characteristics, such as passions and interests. Furthermore, there are characteristics which
describe the conduct of a given Christ-figure. The very first two characteristics Kozlovic points out in
his article fall into this category: the fact that Christ-figures are often very tangible and visible (8),
rather than hidden or obscure, and the fact that Christ-figures always play a central role in the movie
(9), most often that of the protagonist. In regard to their appearance, Christ-figure often have blue eyes
(20) and wear clothing similar to the garb of Jesus Christ. The latter can be interpreted as both a
physical and spiritual garb, Kozlovic suggests. Primarily, it refers to Jesus’ iconic white robes.
Spiritually, it can refer to, for example, “holy auras and effulgent lights” (20). Furthermore, Christfigures are often 30 years old, something Kozlovic refers to as “the holy age” (13) due to the fact that
it is the “biblical age when Jesus started doing his Father's will” (13), and a Christ-figure’s initials are
often J.C., after the name Jesus Christ (21). In addition, Christ-figures are often depicted in “a
cruciform pose”, “an unmistakable visual emblem of their Christic nature” (17), or surrounded with
cross symbolism, either in the mise-en-scène or as a result of cinematography (18). Characteristics
may also be noticed within the personalities of Christ-figures. In reference to any crimes they have
allegedly committed, they are often innocent and treated unfairly (17). They often portrait alter-egos
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(11), like Jesus Christ who was said to be both a Messiah and a carpenter and there is always a kind of
special/normal duality surrounding the Christ-figure. They appear as normal human beings, but “they
are not of the world” (12), but rather special and extraordinary, evident in their actions. Lastly,
Kozlovic points out that Christ-figures often “appear as nerds, klutzes, bumbling simpletons, mentally
unbalanced, or fools” (19). “[T]hey display cognitive innocence and child-like trust” (19). In other
words, they portray a kind of simplicity.
It is important to note that Kozlovic presents the scope of his theory as open to interpretation,
evident in the fact that he considers the possibility of animal and extra terrestrial Christ-figures, as
well as the depiction of Christ-figures in objects (12). Therefore, the twenty-five characteristics can be
considered universal and applicable to both male and female Christ-figures. Due to the fact that
Kozlovic’s presentation of these characteristics seems rather disorganized, simply listing them in a
seemingly random order, I have attempted to categorize them into three groups. Furthermore, as a
general guideline, I have suggested that each of these groups must be represented when analyzing a
Christ-figure, as this will strengthen the argument of one’s analysis.
The characteristics in the three categories provide a good foundation for an argument depicting
a Christ-figure in film. They also show the lack of argumentation in the aforementioned articles by
McEver and Guðmundsdóttir, especially considering the fact that Kozlovic’s work was available to
Guðmundsdóttir at the time of writing. In paragraph 2.4 I will illustrate the application of the
described characteristic by analyzing protagonist Amélie of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. In
chapter three I will consider the concept of transcendental style, seeking to combine the concept of the
female Christ-figures with that of transcendentalism.
2.4. The analysis of Amélie as a female Christ-figure
In this second part of this chapter I will have the following goals. Firstly, using the characteristics of
Kozlovic, as well as the categories proposed in paragraph 2.3, I will analyze protagonist Amélie as a
cinematic Christ-figure. This part of the chapter will serve as an illustration of the categories of
possible Christ-figure characteristics, as well as the proposed guideline of having each category
represented. In line with the fact that Kozlovic refers to his work as a checklist, I shall discuss each
characteristic separately. Amélie proves to be a good test-case for the application of this model,
because she is not readily identifiable as a Christ-figure. Rather, as stated in the definition of my
corpus, close analysis is needed to recognize the larger part of Amélie’s religious connotations.
The second part of this chapter will examine the role of cinematic techniques in the depiction
of Christ-figures. Here, an emphasis will exist on the analysis of the mise-en-scène, as well as the nondiegetic voice-over and the cinematography of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.
25
2.4.1. Using Kozlovic’s characteristics and the proposed categories
On a sparkling evening in July while on the beaches, holiday hordes relax in the newfound sun and Paris’ sweltering denizens gaze at the star bursts of the traditional
fireworks, Amélie Poulain, godmother of outcasts, Madonna of the unloved, finally
succumbed to exhaustion. In Paris’ stricken streets, a vast throng of mourners line her
funeral route in silence with the measureless sorrow of newly orphaned children. What a
strange destiny for one who gave her all, yet took such joy in life’s simple pleasures. Like
Don Quixote, she pitted herself against the grinding windmills of all life’s miseries. It
was a losing battle that claimed her life too soon. At barely 23, Amélie Poulain let her
young, tired body merge with the ebb and flow of universal woe. As she went, she felt a
stab of regret for letting her father die without trying to give his stifled life the breath of
air she had given to so many others. (00:37:03 - 00:38:42)
The citation above is that of the voiceover narrator during Amélie’s death memorial scene (scene 52).
It will play an important role in the analysis done in this chapter. However, in order to distinguish the
twenty-five characteristics, it might prove easiest to first discern which characteristics do not apply to
Amélie. Interestingly enough, most of these characteristics fall into the third category, “Personality,
conduct and appearance”. Here, as this category contains the more outward, obvious characteristics of
a Christ-figure, the fact that close analysis is needed to identify the religious aspects of Amélie’s
character becomes evident once more.
Starting with the most apparent characteristics: Amélie is not 30 years old, nor are her initials
J.C. She does not have blue eyes and she does not wear clothing similar to that of Jesus Christ. She is
never portrayed in a crucifixion pose and she is not surrounded by cross symbolism. Furthermore, she
does not have twelve associates, similar to the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, nor is there a betrayer
associate, in the image of Judas. Poverty is not a big issue in her life, evident in the fact that money
does not play a significant role in the film and is in fact rarely mentioned. Her symbolic death, which
will be explored in depth in the following paragraph, cannot be depicted as willingly, evident in the
sentence “Amélie Poulain [...] finally succumbed to exhaustion” (00:37:27). Lastly, she is not
“divinely sourced or tasked”. Rather, Amélie is driven by the profound consequences of her first act of
kindness. This is what ultimately tasks her with doing good deeds.
Amélie’s social role and associates
Still, a large number of characteristics remain, enough to convincingly establish Amélie as a female
Christ-figure. Considering the characteristics of the first category, “social role and associates”, one can
recognize a sexually identified man in Nino Quincampoix (this was, in the case of Jesus, a woman,
Mary Magdalene). Amélie and Nino have feelings for each other, although neither of them admits it.
Early on in the movie, Amélie is signified as not being sexually active. She is seen in bed with a man
26
once, only to show her boredom. Yet, with Nino, during the climax of the movie in which Nino and
Amélie finally meet, their encounter is displayed erotically through compassionate kissing. Here, it
becomes evident that Nino can be described as the Mary Magdalene of the story.
Similarly, there is a John the Baptist-figure in the movie. This is Raymond Dufayel, who
points Amélie is the right direction. Amélie and Dufayel constantly discuss Amélie’s life, albeit in a
figurative sense, through the painting Dufayel is working on. When Nino shows up at Amélie’s
apartment and Amélie is hesitant to let him in (scene 124), it is Dufayel who encourages Amélie to
open the door. He plays this guiding and encouraging role throughout the movie and while Amélie
might be in service to others, it is Dufayel who is in service to Amélie. On a side note, Dufayel plays
this same role for Lucien, encouraging him to distance himself from Collignon (scene 80).
Furthermore, Amélie appears in a Zorro costume several times throughout the film (scenes 19,
70, 103, 109, and 111) (Image 2). What is represented through this costume is the fact that Amélie is
in service of the less fortunate and less enabled. This is portrayed through Amélie’s intervention in the
bullying of the monoplegic Lucien, as well as her helping the blind man walk down the street. Both of
these characters display a disability and therefore represent a group of people of “lesser” talent and
power. Although they cannot be described as ungrateful – in fact, they are the complete opposite –
evident here is the fact that a Christ-figure is in service of the less fortunate. Note that this does not
place Amélie “above” them. Rather, it highlights the equality of all, as even Amélie – a Christ-figure –
does not hesitate to help her fellow human beings.
Image 2: Amélie wears a Zorro costume several times. It represents her service to the lesser fortunate, as
well as her normal/special duality. (01:26:23)
Kozlovic points out that at times Christ-figures are addressed by holy exclamations. This is also the
case with Amélie, although it is not through the words “God” or “Jesus”. Rather, Amélie is called an
angel by Dominique Bretodeau, who states that whoever returned his box with childhood treasures
must be his “guardian angel” (00:33:12). Furthermore, her actions are referred to as a miracle (which
27
will be discussed in depth later in this chapter) by the concierge of her apartment building Madeleine
Wallace, who – unaware of Amélie’s involvement– receives a long lost letter from her diseased
husband, which proves his love for her. Lastly, in the scene in which she views a memorial broadcast
of her own death on television, Amélie is called the “Madonna of the unloved”. Often times, the word
Madonna is used to refer to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (“Definitions for Madonna”),
arguably the most important female in the bible. While these three examples illustrate the verbal
references to religious connotations surrounding protagonist Amélie, I wish to add a visual one as
well: the death memorial scene shows Amélie as a nun, washing the feet of the blind man, next to the
basilica Sacré-Coeur (Image 3). This is a direct reference to the bible, as Jesus washed the feet of his
disciples. This act is commonly interpreted as Jesus taking on the role of a humble servant (Harker). It
is an act of love and humility: “One cannot understand this practice of footwashing without linking it
with the love of the Savior.” (Harker) It is within these verbal and visual references to Amélie as a
religious figure that the death memorial scene first shows it significance.
Image 3: Amélie watches her own death memorial of television. She is seen wearing nun clothing washing
the feet of the blind man – a direct reference to the bible. (00:38:13)
Cited at the beginning of paragraph 2.4.1. is the voice-over of this memorial broadcast (scene 52). The
fact that Amélie is still alive afterwards, shows that this scene must be interpreted as a symbolic death.
Afraid that her life might be lost without her having achieved all she wanted to achieve in life, she is
seen crying while watching this memorial of her own death on French news broadcast “Pathé Journal”.
Here, an important scene unfolds for the depiction of Amélie as a Christ-figure, as several
characteristics can be interpreted (one of which has been described in the previous paragraph and two
of which shall be discussed below, as they belong to a different category of characteristics). It must be
noted, that even though the death marks a low point for Amélie, illustrated in her sadness, the voiceover narration points the viewer towards a realization of Amélie. The last sentence states: “As she
went, she felt a stab of regret for letting her father die without trying to give his stifled life the breath
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of air she had given to so many others.” (00:38:28), which refers to the realization that the task she has
set herself out to do is still far from over, and that others in her more immediate surroundings, such as
her father, require help too. This makes that the scene, which for some non-French viewers may be
hard to follow due to its speed, marks a turning point for Amélie, evident in the fact immediately after
Amélie visits her father’s house and takes away his garden gnome in preparation of her good deed
towards him. The symbolic death of Amélie can thus be seen as a beneficial death. The Christ-figure,
as well as those around her, benefit from it.
Lastly, Amélie can be interpreted as an outsider to society. This is signified in a twofold
manner. Firstly, it is illustrated through her loneliness, which she realizes right before watching the
memorial broadcast on television (scene 51). The upbringing she received made her an outsider,
evident in, for example, her mumbling of the words: “She can’t relate to other people. She was always
a lonely child.” (00:36:53) However, perhaps more importantly, while she discusses her life with
Raymond Dufayel, she is literally referred to as an outsider: “She’s in the middle, yet she’s on the
outside” (00:29:51), says Dufayel. Similarly, Kozlovic states: “they are in the world but not of the
world”. Amélie is thus represented as an outsider too, a characteristic found in Christ-figures.
Amélie’s spirituality and divinity
Two characteristics of the second category, “Spirituality”, are evident in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain. Perhaps, by now, the death and resurrection of Amélie has been illustrated. The memorial
scene brings about a realization, which signifies the rebirth of Amélie, as it brings a new outlook and a
new mission. However, one can also state that Amélie performs miracles. Other than the fact that
Amélie’s neighbor literally refers to Amélie’s conduct as a miracle, one can turn towards the acts of
kindness of Amélie to recognize the miracles she performs.
For this, a pattern must be distinguished in the good deeds of Amélie: they leave the receiving
person confused, as if an “outside force” – perhaps even a “divine force” – has intervened in their
lives. They are forms of conduct that no person on earth can perform, albeit, due to the fact that
Amélie in fact does execute them, in a figurative sense. Amélie intervenes in the lives of those around
her, mostly without them knowing.
An example of this pattern can be found in Amélie’s first act of kindness, which involves
Dominique Bretodeau, the man to whom Amélie returns his childhood treasures. He finds his box in a
telephone booth of which the telephone rings at the precise moment he passes it – of course
coordinated by Amélie (scene 47). In his confusion and disbelief, he cautiously approaches the booth,
after which he finds the box containing his long lost possessions. He becomes emotional and describes
his experience two scenes later (scene 49), in which both he and Amélie (seemingly coincidental) sit in
the same café. Bretodeau states: “It must be my guardian angel. It’s the only explanation. It was as if
the phone booth was calling me.” (00:33:11) Amélie is referred to as an angel, and the example
illustrates the pattern of the “miracles” Amélie performs in the lives of others.
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Another example includes the blind man escorted down a busy shopping street by Amélie.
Again, a form of conduct is carried out which, strictly speaking, cannot be carried out by any human
being, as Amélie aims to temporarily give the man his vision back (similar to the fact that Kozlovic
points out a Christ-figure’s “mastery over physical nature”). Similarly, when Amélie avenges
Collignon’s bullying of Lucien, she does so in a manner which confuses Collignon, as if a divine force
has mediated between him and his apartment (scenes 69, 75, 96 and 101). By changing seemingly
small details of Collignon’s apartment, such as the position of his toothpaste, the doorknob to the
bathroom, the wiring of a light and the setting of his alarm clock, Amélie disrupts Collignon’s life.
Unable to understand these changes, he presumably decides that an indefinable force is at work and
that he must change aspects of his life, including the bullying of Lucien.
Lastly, the forged letter sent to Madeleine Wallace is an example of this pattern. Arranged by
Amélie, as mentioned, she receives a “lost” letter from her diseased husband (scene 104). After
obsessively telling Amélie about this person, Amélie realizes that her neighbor finds comfort and
happiness in the letters she received from him. After this, Amélie decides to send a letter which
supposedly was recovered by the French post office years after being sent. Enthusiastic about
receiving the letter, she refers to the whole event as a miracle (01:48:24). She never realizes it was
Amélie who sent the letter, but rather refers to an “outside force” to justify it.
Amélie’s personality, conduct and appearance
Lastly, as opposed to large number of characteristics of the third category which cannot be applied to
Amélie, there are six characteristics of the “personality, conduct and appearance” category which can
be distinguished.
Firstly, evident in Dufayel’s description of Amélie as “She’s in the middle, yet she’s on the
outside”, Amélie is portrayed as tangible and visible, evident also in the fact that Amélie is the
mediator between all other characters. Similarly, Amélie is the protagonist of the film, which makes
that she plays a central role in the movie, “just like the Son of God is central to the second half of the
Christian Bible” (Kozlovic 9). This is also evident in the fact that out of 127 scenes, there are only 17
without Amélie in it (see appendix B). Here, Kozlovic points out two types of “modes”, the savior
mode and the redeemer mode. Amélie being an example of the former, the savior mode of Christfigures “represent Jesus' rescuing, liberating, leading, transforming or saving functions [...]” (9). A
redeemer Christ-figure, on the other hand, “emerge[s] from a context of evil or strife to take on the
sinfulness of those around them, usually through their own suffering or death” (10). Essentially,
Kozlovic illustrates the centrality of Christ-figures through their role, either as a savior, like Amélie, or
as a redeemer.
Furthermore, as a child, Amélie is treated unfairly by her parents in regard to something she
was innocent of, which shaped the course of her life. In the introduction of the film it is said that
Amélie craves attention from her father, which she does not receive (00:04:50). Due to medical
30
misdiagnosis, her parents assume she has a heart defect (scene 6). As a consequence, they decide to
home school her and keep her separated from other children. This shapes the course of her life, evident
in the fact that years later, after realizing the sadness in having dinner alone, she recalls her parents
saying “She can’t relate to other people. She was always a lonely child.” (00:36:53) Due to the fact
that there is no truth in this medical misdiagnose, which ultimately shapes her life, she is the innocent
victim of a “crime”.
Perhaps connected to this is the fact that Amélie lives a simple life, although she is not a
“fool”, something Kozlovic refers to while discussing this characteristic (19). However, early on she is
introduced as having cultivated “a taste for small pleasures” (00:12:17), such as “cracking crème
brûlée with a tea spoon and skipping stones on the Canal St. Martin.” (00:12:24-00:12:36) Amélie is
portrayed as finding pleasure in small things. Kozlovic points out that often “the simplicity of Christfigures is misread as stupidity, their saintliness confused with simple-mindedness, their tolerance and
compassion mistaken for weakness and wimpishness” (19). Amélie is certainly not simple-minded,
nor weak. Rather, she lives a simple life, one she chooses consciously.
Additionally, the fact that Amélie is at moments seen wearing a Zorro costume has previously
been discussed. I pointed out that this connects to the fact that Amélie is in service to the less enabled
and less fortunate of society (Image 2 on page 26). However, there are more characteristics connected
to this costume. Similar to Jesus, Amélie portrays an alter ego. Other than being a waitress in her
public, day-to-day life, she is, similar to Zorro, a good-doer who carries out her actions anonymously.
She does not seek recognition for the deeds she does. In line with Jesus, who was said to be both a
Messiah and a carpenter (Kozlovic 11), she prefers to live a double life, one of which is kept private.
Here, in this double life, one can also recognize the special/normal duality surrounding
Amélie. Kozlovic describes that Christ-figures often “special, extraordinary beings even though
they usually appear as "normal" human beings [...] [t]hey live in the world, but are not of or sometimes
even from the world” (12). Kozlovic continues by illustrating that questioning whether a figure
engages in sexual activity is a good way to consider his or her normalcy (12). As pointed out earlier,
Amélie does not, up until the very ending of the film. This, in addition to the alter-ego, demonstrates
her special/normal duality, similar to that of Jesus Christ.
2.4.2. The cinematic style of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain as indicative of a Christ-figure
I do not wish to base my entire Christ-figure analysis on the distinguishing of twenty-five narrative
characteristics because, writing within the field of film studies, I see tremendous value in the analysis
of cinematic techniques. The importance of this becomes clear once we consider the techniques of Le
Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain in the discussion about Christ-figures. As shown in the previous
paragraphs, enough signifiers exists in the “holy subtext” of the movie to conclusively argue for
protagonist Amélie as a Christ-figure. However, looking at the distinctive filmic style of the film, one
31
can notice other signifiers, which were not necessarily pointed out by Kozlovic. These signifiers are
supported by certain techniques of the film, which lead the viewer towards the religious connotations.
In this paragraph I will discuss the unique voiceover narration, the distinctive mise-en-scène,
as well as the cinematography of the film. Although I will analyze other techniques in chapter three,
for the purpose of arguing that cinematic techniques can play a role in the signification of Christfigures, just considering these three areas will prove enough. I will begin by discussing the narration of
the film, simply because it is the primary source of information for the viewer (in terms of guidance).
Secondly, I shall discuss the mise-en-scène as indicative of Amélie as a Christ-figure. Lastly, I shall
come back to the guidance of the film by discussing the cinematography. A strong connection between
the three thus exists.
Voice-over narrator
Before discussing the voice-over narrator, I wish to point out that there are in fact three voice-over
narrators in this film, two of which are heard very briefly (Hipolito in scene 71 and Madeleine
Wallace’s late husband in scenes 97 and 104). It is not my aim to discuss these two brief occurrences
of a different voiceover. Rather, I will discuss the main narrator, which narrates 25 of the 28 scenes
which feature a voiceover narrator. This narrator is, opposed to the other two narrators, omniscient,
due to the fact that he has knowledge of situation which do not involve him personally. He is never
seen onscreen and is therefore non-diegetic.
This voice-over narration provides the viewer with both useful and less useful information. At
the same time, there is a strong connection between the narrator, the narrative and the viewer, as all
three must work in order to fully comprehend a storyline. As David Bordwell points out, a viewer does
not simply fill in gaps any way they wish to (as stated in Elsaesser and Buckland, page 170). Rather,
they are guided by norms and conventions. They “do not ‘absorb’ the data, because it is not complete
in itself” (Elsaesser and Buckland 170). Rather, viewers process all bits of the incomplete information
using schemata: “norms and principles in the mind that organize the incomplete data into coherent
mental representations” (170).
Within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, two forces are at work to provide the viewer
with these incomplete bits of information: the unfolding story, but certainly also the voice-over
narration. The viewer must actively piece together information provided by the narrator and connect
these bits of information to the images and sounds of the diegetic filmic world. Similarly, the narrator
provides pieces of information depicting Amélie as a Christ-figure. This has been of tremendous value
in the analysis of Amélie.
Consider, for example, the significance of the scene in which Amélie views her own death
memorial on a French news broadcast. This scene is heavily supported by the voice-over, as the
images on the television of Amélie only give a limited amount of information. Without this scene,
several of Kozlovic’s characteristics would have been problematic to recognize, including what
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Kozlovic calls the ultimate Christic identifier: a resurrection. In addition to this, the voice-over proved
exceptionally important in the introduction of the film, in which Amélie’s somewhat unhealthy
relationship with her parents is explained. Again, several characteristics lean on the role of the voiceover, including the fact that she is treated unfairly by her parents, as well as the way she is constituted
as an outsider of society.
Mise-en-scène and colors
The voice-over narration holds a strong connection to the mise-en-scène of the film. At this point, it
has to be noted that, looking at the often discussed colors (as illustrated in chapter one), three
distinctive types of colors exist in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. These color categories will
play a significant role in the analysis of the next chapter, albeit in a different manner. They are
distinguished by counting the occurrences of the different color types (refer to appendix B for a full
list). I shall breakdown these categories here, as I will do similarly in chapter three. However, because
of the fact that each color category will need to be illustrated with examples in chapter three (due to
the fact that in chapter three the color categories need to connected to their role within the narrative), I
have chosen to keep the breakdown of the colors brief within paragraph 2.4.2. Please refer to
paragraph 3.4.2 for a further investigation of the different color types of the film.
The first type of coloring are the “usual” colors of the film. They are heavily saturated and
emphasize red and green colors, applied to illustrated contrasts. The second is the use of either black
and white, or other monochrome coloring such as sepia. This type is used to distinguish elements of
time, for example the capturing of time in a photograph or video, as well as the signification of a jump
in time, such as in a flashback. Thirdly, there are uses of color which put emphasis on a certain
element (object) within the movie. These are characterized by extreme saturation. Examples of this are
the beating heart of Amélie (scene 55) and the blind man’s halo, seen after Amélie guides him through
a shopping street (scene 50).
For the purpose of this chapter, I shall discuss only the third type. The other two forms of
mise-en-scène I shall consider further in chapter three. Film scholars Thomas Elsaesser and Warren
Buckland, in their book Studying Contemporary American Film, referring to scholar Victor Perkins
and philosopher Noël Carroll, point out that at times the mise-en-scène is depicted in terms of
credibility and coherence. “The concept of credibility therefore refers to a film’s adherence to the truth
of a fictional world.” (Elsaesser and Buckland 84). This suggests that the mise-en-scène properly
functions as long as it fits in the (fictional) world of the film. Following this, they refer to Adrian
Martin’s work “Mise en scene is dead, or The Expressive, The Excessive, The Technical and The
Stylish”, putting forward the analysis of mise-en-scène through the use of three categories, which
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describe the relation between style and theme. 10 Firstly, there is the category of classical mise-enscène, in which “the film style is unobtrusive, for it is motivated by the film’s themes and dramatic
developments” (89). In other words: a balance exists between the visual and the narrative. Secondly,
there is the category of expressionist mise-en-scène, which portrays a “broad fit between style and
theme” (89). In this category, mise-en-scène is used to enhance particular meanings in the narrative, to
“enhance or reinforce the general “feel” or meaning of the subject matter” (85). 11 Lastly, Martin
describes the mannerist mise-en-scène category, in which style is fully autonomous and draws
attention to itself. It “is not motivated or justified by the subject matter” (89).
Due to the fact that the unrealistic elements of the mise-en-scène of Le Fabuleux Destin
d’Amélie Poulain still connect to the subject matter of the film, yet it is displayed in such a manner
that it feels a “out of place”, one can only conclude that this type of mise-en-scène fits into the second
category, expressionist mise-en-scène. As Elsaesser and Buckland state, it is used to enhance a
particular meaning of the narrative. Similarly, two cases of this type of mise-en-scène in the film
depict Amélie as a Christ-figure.
Firstly, there is Amélie’s beating heart, displayed during an early meeting between herself and
Nino (scene 55) (Image 4). At first it may seem only a portrayal of Amélie’s anxiety, an effect of her
encounter with Nino. However, a second interpretation cannot be overlooked. During his analysis of
Jesus in Montreal (1989), Lloyd Baugh points out the significance of the sacred heart: “Arcand has
him [Daniel] outstretched on the cross-shaped operating table: a surgeon preparing him for the surgery
paints the centre of his chest with a red disinfectant. It becomes a transparent image of the Sacred
Heart, Jesus giving his heart, himself, out of love.” (Baugh 128) Similarly, Amélie’s heart, can be seen
as such. It is a signifier of her Christ-figure connotation, which it strengthens.
The sacred heart, or the “Most Sacred Heart of Jesus” as it is know at times, is a
predominantly Catholic icon which represents the love of Jesus Christ. Most often, it is portrayed as a
human heart, often surrounded by flames, displayed either outside of Jesus’ chest or as being held by
Jesus in his hand. The symbol, which by now has been used within numerous forms of iconography,
first surfaced in the seventeenth century, when French nun Marguerite-Marie Alacoque (1647-1690)
had visions about resting on Jesus’ chest. She wrote: “where He discovered to me the wonders of His
love and the inexplicable secrets of His Sacred Heart.” (Kehoe 763) Similar to the fact that the icon of
the sacred heart of Jesus Christ is often displayed in flames, Amélie’s heart is displayed in a bright
yellow and orange glow. Here, a clear parallel exists with Christian iconography, as the heart of
Amélie draws on the connotations of the sacred heart of Jesus Christ.
10
Unavailable at the time of writing, as it will be republished in Martin’s forthcoming The Artificial Night:
Essays on Film Theory, Culture and Analysis.
11
Cited here is Adrian Martin in Elsaesser and Buckland.
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Image 4: Amélie's beating heart – her sacred heart. (00:40:33)
Secondly, Amélie’s escorting of the blind man, roughly five minutes before the showing of Amélie’s
sacred heart, shows another important element of the mise-en-scène in the analysis of Amélie as a
Christ-figure (scene 50). After having walked with the man, describing to him what she sees along the
way, she leaves the man at a nearby metro station. The camera shows an overhead shot, which briefly
follows Amélie up the stairs of the metro station, after which it pans down and lowers towards the
blind man, who is looking directly into the camera (as well as past it later in the shot), although it is
suggested that he looks at the sky. The screen turns slightly more red and a halo-like glow surrounds
the man, now filling the entire screen (Image 5). It is a portrayal of the man’s happiness and it seems
as if the man feels blessed, blessed by Amélie and her actions of kindness towards him.
This shot conveys two highly religious connotations. Firstly, there is the fact that the blind
man looks at the sky, even though he cannot actually see. It is as if the blind man turns to heaven and
expresses his gratitude for that fact that Amélie temporarily gave him back his sight (as argued in
paragraph 2.4.1), now at peace with his handicap. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, the halo is,
similar to the sacred heart, a religious icon, albeit not necessarily one only of Christianity, but also of
at least Mithraic and Buddhist traditions (Stratman 2). The halo is used to indicate holy or sacred
people and although the earliest portrayals of this icon were reserved for Jesus Christ, it was later used
to indicate saints (Roddy 140). A small, but important discrepancy must be noted. Unlike the sacred
heart, the halo in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain does not appear around Amélie, but rather
around the blind man. However, this does not take away from the fact that another use of religious
iconography is displayed here, one which is easily ignored, but when read closely reveals more
religious subtexts.
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Image 5: The blind man's halo. An effect of Amélie’s good deed. (00:36:13)
In both cases, one can see the significance of the mise-en-scène in the identification of Amélie as a
female Christ-figure. They carry religious connotations, part of the “holy subtext”. It is therefore not
only the twenty-five characteristics that portray her as such, but the portrayal is carried, at least partly,
in the cinematic techniques as well. It is important to also consider the role of the narration in this
process, as this voice-over plays a significant part in the narrative of the film. This guiding role is
similarly evident when one turns to the cinematography of the film, as I will do below.
Cinematography
A clear relation between the mise-en-scène and the cinematography, as indicative of the religious
connotations of the film, exists. In Film: A Critical Introduction, Pramaggiore and Wallis state, in
relation to cinematography: “The most powerful uses of cinematography do more than simply display
technical expertise: they provoke emotional, intellectual, and aesthetic responses. [...] To grasp the full
import of visual expression, viewers must move beyond selective vision, which is the tendency to
notice only those things they want to see, they expect to see, and they are used to seeing.”
(Pramaggoire and Wallis 130). Within this paragraph, I wish to illustrate that this tendency of the
cinematography to evoke an emotional response clearly connects to Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain. For this, I will illustrate that, opposed to the fact that Pramaggiore and Wallis state that a
viewer tends to look at what they want to see, expect to see and are used to seeing, the cinematography
of this film guides the viewer’s gaze elsewhere. This is how the religious subtexts are supported by the
cinematography, by leading the viewer towards them – by means of camera movement.
To illustrate the clear connection between the cinematography and the mise-en-scène
(discussed in the previous paragraph), I shall refer back to the same scenes which portray the
aforementioned sacred heart and halo. Firstly, there is the occurrence of the sacred heart – Amélie’s
36
beating heart showed visually. The scene’s shots (until slightly after showing Amélie’s heart) are as
follows:
1. A crane shot shows the train platforms (extreme long shot to long shot). It slowly
moves down and Amélie appears onscreen in the bottom center, walking seemingly
uncomfortable. The camera comes to a halt near the ground and Amélie leaves the
screen on the right side.
2. A tracking shot follows Amélie’s feet walking along the station’s main hall (close
up). Nino appears onscreen on the right side, sitting on the ground. He looks at a
photograph and turns his face towards Amélie.
3. A shot/reverse shot situation emerges. Firstly, Nino looks at Amélie (close-up).
4. A second shot shows Amélie looking at Nino (close up). They stare straight at each
other. The camera tilts down and shows Amélie’s heart (close-up). It tilts back up to
Amélie’s face (close up).
5. The shot/reverse shot resumes and Nino is shown again, still looking towards
Amélie (medium long shot). He gets up, walks towards Amélie and bumps into her
(medium long shot). Amélie is shown (close-up). The scene continues.
What I am trying to illustrate with this shot summary is the fact that the scene breaks a shot/reverse
shot situation to show the heart of Amélie, but resumes it afterwards. The cinematography thus breaks
with what the viewer expects from a shot/reverse shot to lead the viewer’s gaze towards the heart.
Therefore, the religious connotation is supported by the cinematography of this scene.
A similar interpretation of the scene which shows the blind man’s halo can be given. I will not
describe all the shots of scene, simply because there are 20 extremely short shots (roughly an average
length of 3 seconds) which display the actual walking of Amélie with the blind man through the
shopping street. However, I will contextualize these 20 shots by describing the ones before and after.
This is sufficient, because I do not wish to base my argument on the nature of the 20 short shots alone,
but rather on the entire scene. The shots of this scene are as follows:
1. The camera tracks the sidewalk. The blind man’s feet and white cane are seen (close
up). The cane taps the sidewalk rhythmically.
2. The top of the head of the blind man is seen (close up). The camera is mounted on a
crane and it moves downwards. The man turns his head from left to right. This shot is
(almost) a point-of-view shot from Amélie’s perspective.
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3. Amélie is standing on the sidewalk (medium close up). The camera moves towards her.
She looks at the blind man from behind.
4. Amélie walks to the man from behind and talks to him (close up).
5. A series of 20 shots begins, all handheld. In these shots, the viewer follows the two as
Amélie takes the blind man by the arm and guides him through the street (most shots are
close up).
6. The camera is once more mounted to a crane (as opposed to the previous 20 shots
which were all handheld). The camera tracks Amélie and the blind man as they walk past
and Amélie says goodbye to him. She run up a stairs, the camera moves up and follows
her (now in long shot). Amélie leaves the screen and the camera tilts down. The blind
man stands in the center of the screen, looking at it. The camera lowers and the halo
appears.
What is interesting about this scene is the fact that there is a duality going on between the blind man
and Amélie. Amélie is leader of the scene, so to speak, as the camera movement is clearly bound to
her movement as she takes the blind man by the arm. However, there is one moment where the camera
breaks from her movement and shifts to that of the blind man, namely the second half of the last shot,
the moment the halo appears. Amélie leaves the man and the camera tracks her as she walks up the
stairs of the metro station. However, this camera movement is interrupted, after which Amélie is no
longer onscreen, and it turns to the blind man. This movement thus shifts the viewer’s attention away
from Amélie. Therefore, similar to the previous shot list of the scene with Amélie’s heart, the
cinematography in this scene helps the viewer to recognize the religious connotations.
What I have attempted to argue within this paragraph is the fact that the Christ-figure
connotations of the film are both supported and conveyed by the technical aspects of the film. This
happens on three levels. Firstly, the voice-over narration supports the Christ-figure characteristics, as it
often explains these characteristics (for example, during the introduction of the film). Secondly, the
mise-en-scène portrays religious iconography, which are not necessarily mentioned by Anton
Kozlovic, but which do support the religious subtext of the film. Lastly, I have argued for the role of
the cinematography as redirecting the viewer’s gaze towards these parts of the mise-en-scène. In other
words, the cinematography is in support of the religious mise-en-scène.
In sum, one can only conclude that it is therefore not just the narrative in itself that creates this
religious subtext, but also the editing, colors, camera movement and narration of the film. Combining
this with the analysis of Amélie through the scope of Kozlovic’s twenty-five characteristics, I have
argued for the Christ-figure role of Amélie. My aim was to propose the use of Kozlovic’s
characteristics, structured according to three categories, upon which to base a Christ-figure analysis.
Important to understand is that these characteristic can only be used to base an argument on. There is
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no strict rule as to how many of the characteristics must be evident within a cinematic Christ-figure.
Rather, it has to be understood as a tool for strengthening one’s argument. I illustrated this by
analyzing Amélie as a Christ-figure of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. In chapter three I shall
continue with the same movie, but with a different overarching religious perspective, that of
transcendentalism. Subsequently, I shall attempt to illustrate the connection between this notion and
the concept of the Christ-figure, which I shall summarize in the conclusion.
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Chapter 3: Transcendental style in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
Chapter two discussed Amélie using a Christ-figure perspective by applying twenty-five
characteristics onto Le Fabuleux Destin d´Amélie Poulain. I introduced three categories to bring
structure to Anton Kozlovic’s characteristics and argued that Amélie can be seen as a Christ-figure.
Building on this, I shall distinguish what has been called a transcendental style, references to a
transcendent – something or someone outside the immanent – within the film.
This chapter is structured similarly to chapter two. I will begin with a general examination of
the used definitions of important notions and concepts, as well as the consideration of the theory
surrounding the so called cinematic transcendental style. Following this, I will return to Le Fabuleux
Destin d´Amélie Poulain to argue how this style can be recognized in the film. My aim is to show that
Paul Schrader’s transcendental style, which describes a three step structure, is more universally
applicable than the author presents it to be. Furthermore, I shall point out the connection between this
style and the Christ-figure analysis of chapter two, by illustrating that both analyses draw on the use of
religious iconography.
3.1. An introduction to transcendental style
This thesis started with an anecdote revolving around the concept of transcendentalism. This abstract
term was explained to have its origins in both philosophy and theology, with an overlapping definition
amongst the two fields of study, as they both apply the term to describe one’s relation to reality.
As briefly noted, within philosophy, the term is most commonly used to refer to a nineteenth
century group of thinkers, “centered around Ralph Waldo Emerson” (Goodman). At times, the group
is considered a religion in itself, as it is based on the collective beliefs and principles of its members.
Amongst the Transcendentalist were notable names such as Henry David Thoreau, Margaret Fuller
and Theodore Parker. Finding inspiration in, amongst others, the criticism of Schleiermacher, the
skepticism of Hume, Kantian metaphysics, as well as romanticism, it is hard to universally define what
the philosophers collectively believed in (and surely, they did not always agree about everything).
However, several trends in their thinking can be distinguished. Most importantly, the temporary
exchange of “the world of facts and the categories of common sense” for “the world of ideas and the
categories of imagination” (Brodrick). Here, their tendency to no longer rely on logic, but rather on
Idealism, is visible. The Transcendentalist believed that logic such as causation limits the mind and its
abilities. No longer relying on such terms would thus allow for improved thinking, but at the same
time renders ideas “inconsistent and vague” (Brodrick). It is in this that their “original relation to the
universe”, as cited in the introduction of this thesis, is clearly visible, as the Transcendentalist sought
to disconnect themselves from the laws of the universe.
Within theology (meaning the study of religion, but not considering the Transcendentalist
movement a religion), the term “transcendentalism” is used in a different sense. The aforementioned
40
overlap with philosophy can be recognized in the fact that within theology, the term is also used to
describe a relation to the universe, albeit in a different manner. Strictly speaking, the term refers to the
property of one object being beyond another object (“transcendental”). Combining this with ones
relation to the universe, a definition arises which is close to the way the term is used within theology,
which is based on one truism: “The Transcendent is beyond normal sense experience, and that which it
transcends is, by definition, the immanent” (Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film 5). In other words,
the transcendent – that which is transcendental – is beyond the everyday, beyond the visible and
mundane.
In 1972, filmmaker Paul Schrader published his book Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu,
Bresson, Dreyer. This work, originally Schrader’s MA thesis at UCLA (Hamilton, “Paul Schrader”),
became an important and canonical work about the topic of recognizing transcendence within cinema.
This is precisely the reason why I decided to use it for my thesis. In this work, Schrader attempts to
distinguish a style which portrays this being “beyond the everyday” in film. The book is based on two
premises: (1) there are expressions of the transcendent (also referred to by Schrader as “the Holy”) in
every culture, albeit in a different manner, and (2) these expressions share common characteristics,
recognizable in form and style (Schrader, “Transcendental Style in Film Program Notes”). Within
these two premises, Schrader states that with the right tools, the transcendent “can be isolated,
analyzed, and defined” and while it “strives toward the ineffable and invisible, it is neither ineffable
nor invisible in itself. Transcendental style uses precise temporal means – such as camera angles,
dialogue and editing – for predetermined transcendental ends.” (Schrader, Transcendental Style in
Film 3)
In sum, Schrader argues for the possibility of depicting transcendentalism within film by close
reading the cinematic techniques and distinguishing a style from that. However, before getting to his
proposed method of film analysis, Schrader tries to define what he means by a transcendental style
more thoroughly in three distinctive steps: by defining “transcendental”, defining “style” and
combining the two definitions and coming to what he calls a “working definition” (10). These steps
are important, because they will dictate what a film scholar must look for in order to analyze
Schrader’s transcendentalism.
The above citation of Schrader on the “precise temporal means” was taken from his paragraph
on the definition of “transcendental”. This paragraph is used by Schrader to illustrate the fact that
while there is one truism surrounding the use of the term “transcendental”, there are many definitions
connected to it: “it can mean, directly or indirectly: (1) the Transcendent, the Holy or Ideal itself [...]
(2) the transcendental, human acts or artifacts which express something of the Transcendent [...] (3)
transcendence, the human religious experience [...]” (5-6). He then continues to depict the uses of the
term. It can “(1) [...] inform the viewer/reader/listener about the Transcendent” (6), and it can “express
the Transcendent in human reflection, man-made, man-organized, or man-selected works [...]” (6).
These uses lead Schrader to state that a hierarchy exists from “Transcendent”, via “transcendental” to
41
“transcendence”: from “Other-oriented” to “human-oriented” (6). However, Schrader states that one
must be careful not to cross interpret from one category to another, “to define the Transcendent by the
human experience of transcendence.” (6) The products of human beings (Schrader talks about art,
which certainly also include film), therefore, cannot inform about the transcendent, they can only be
expressive of it. He concludes: “The proper function of transcendental art is, therefore, to express the
Holy itself (the Transcendent), and not to express or illustrate holy feelings.” (7)
Following this, Schrader devotes a small paragraph the term “style”, in which he considers
two possible definitions. Ultimately, due to his aim of seeking style across cultures, Schrader adopts
Heinrich Wolfflin’s definition as a “general representative form.”, which Schrader adepts to mean “the
expression of similar ideas in similar forms by divergent cultures” (8). Lastly, Schrader proposes a
combined definition: “Semantically, transcendental style is simply this: a general representative filmic
form which expresses the Transcendent. As used in this essay, transcendental style refers to a specific
form, although there could conceivably be several transcendental styles in film.” (8-9) It is precisely
this definition which I will be applying in this chapter.
3.2. Schrader’s model of transcendental style
The introduction of his book, from which the above definitions are retrieved, contains a paragraph
named “Towards a working definition”. Schrader states that the “Transcendental style stylizes reality
by eliminating (or nearly eliminating) those elements which are primarily expressive of human
experience, thereby robbing the conventional interpretations of reality of their relevance and power.”
(Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film 11) This quote summarizes the essence of Schrader’s method
of analysis. His book contains three main chapters, titled “Ozu”, “Bresson” and “Dreyer”, names
which refer to the filmmaker central in each of the chapters. His proposed model is explained in the
chapter on Ozu. I shall therefore illustrate each step of the model, three in total, by citing Schrader’s
application of the model onto Yasujiro Ozu’s An Autumn Afternoon (1962) and Late Spring (1949).
The first step constitutes the “everyday”. “1. The everyday: a meticulous representation of the
dull, banal commonplace of everyday living” (39). According to Schrader’s model, firstly, it is
suggested that the world is cold and meaningless. The film portrays life as banal and common. “In the
everyday nothing is expressive, all is coldness” (39). These characteristics become what humans
associate with life itself, “there is no potential for emotion or meaning; there is no place it can come
from.” (Schrader, “Transcendental Style in Film Program Notes”) But it is set up in such a manner,
“so that it may be knocked down later.” (Schrader, Transcendental Style in Film 39) In Ozu’s An
Autumn Afternoon, Schrader argues, this banal everyday life is shown in the style of the film almost
perfectly: “[e]very shot is from the same height, every composition static, every conversation
monotone, every expression bland, every cut forthright and predictable.” (41) Here it is important to
note that Schrader draws a parallel between cinematography (as well as other filmic techniques) and
the expression of the everyday.
42
Secondly, “disparity” is introduced. “2. Disparity: an actual or potential disunity between man
and his environment which culminates in a decisive action” (42). Step two in Schrader’s model is a
“crack in the dull surface of everyday reality” (42). An emotion arises amongst viewers. The first step
showed the dull world of everyday life, but in step two it is believed that there might be more to life
than shown thus far: “he begins to feel that all is not right in the banal world.” (42) From these
feelings, questions arise surrounding the existence of them: if no emotion exist in everyday life (as
suggested in the first step), where do they come from? Schrader suggests that it is exactly due to this
opposition, that these feelings
cannot come from the cold environment or the humane instinct, but comes only from
touching the transcendent ground of being. It is a totally out-of-place emotion, a burden
rather than a tool in dealing with an unfeeling environment. The ‘growing crack in the dull
surface of everyday reality’ becomes an open rupture, and finally, in the moment of
decisive action, there is an outburst of spiritual emotion totally inexplicable within the
everyday. (43)
Considering Ozu’s films, Schrader looks at the relation between man and nature. Schrader argues that
Ozu juxtaposes shots of nature with shots of family scenes, suggesting unity between the two in some
cases and disunity in others (43-44). The human relation to a thoroughly observed nature becomes
questioned (44), something held for granted in the past. It is here that questions arise – again through
the style of the film – about the essence of these feelings in a world in which emotions have no place.
It is important to note at this point that the first step sets the stage for step two and step three. It is in
this that one can understand the importance of step two, the questioning of the everyday. Schrader
adds that this “is a gradual process, each progressive step eating away at the solid veneer of everyday
reality” (46), which ends in a decisive action, “a totally bold call for emotion which dismisses any
pretense of everyday reality” (46)
Lastly, there is a suggestion of transcendence through “stasis”. “3. Stasis: a frozen view of life
which does not resolve the disparity but which transcends it.” (49) The third step no longer hints at the
ineffable, it confronts it and “triggers the expression of the Transcendent.” (49) Schrader argues that
the decisive action, which ends step two, does not resolve the disparity, but it freezes and transcends it.
This “stasis” “establishes an image which can stand beside the ordinary reality: it represents the
Wholly Other.” (49). Important to note is that the stasis is not the transcendent itself, nor does it
directly inform the viewer about the transcendent. Instead, it refers to a second reality, something
outside of the here and now. This, according to Schrader, “is the trademark of religious art in every
culture” (49), including film. In Ozu’s Late Spring, several shots of a vase, alternated with shots of the
daughter who is about to be married, first smiling, then in tears, expresses something “unified,
permanent, transcendent.” (51) The daughter spends her last evening together with her father. The
conflicting emotions are explained through the shots of the vase, it brings unity to the shots and
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suggests something outside the ordinary in the process Again, it is evident that Schrader turns to
cinematography, the editing and order of shots in this case, to recognize the stasis.
Schrader adds a fourth consideration to his theory, expressed in the introduction of his work.
Although it is articulated earlier in the book and seems less fundamental than each of the three steps,
Schrader states that in each of the three chapters (and as a consequence, each of the three filmmakers
considered in those chapters) “there will be references to artistic-religious expression: Ozu to the Zen
arts of painting, gardening, and haiku; Bresson to Byzantine iconography; Dreyer to Gothic
architecture” (12). Here, Schrader seems to suggest that often a cinematic transcendental style holds a
connection to other religious art forms, such as painting, poetry (haiku), iconography and architecture.
Therefore, when Schrader writes: “In this essay there will be many occasions to draw comparisons
between transcendental style and earlier means of religious and artistic expression” (11), he implicitly
states that when one attempts to analyze a transcendental style in film, one might also find references
to other religious art forms.
In sum, each step of Schrader’s proposed transcendental style, paves the way for the following
step(s). The first step, “the everyday” sets up a cold world, in which no emotion exists. The second
step, referred to as “disparity”, casts glimpses of something beyond the ordinary. It builds on the
reality of step one and raises questions about the nature of emotions. It ends in a decisive action, an
attempt to break through with emotion. Lastly, the decisive action of step two forms a “stasis” in step
three, an image is shown which can stand beside this reality, it represents the transcendent. It refers to
“something else”, what Schrader calls the “wholly other”. He adds that often transcendental style
shows a correlation to earlier religious art forms, as suggested in the introduction of the book.
As all three steps consider cinematic techniques, it is important to note that what Schrader
calls “style” can be distinguished by close reading a film. One must recognize the style of a film,
which essentially means to thoroughly typify the characteristics of a filmmaker or a specific film. This
is also evident when Schrader states, in the paragraph after discussing “stasis” in Ozu’s film, that
“style is a form, not an experience”. Similar to what he said in his introduction, style is concrete. It
may refer to the ineffable, but it is certainly not ineffable itself.
3.3. Schrader’s scope: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer and others
Like most film scholars, Paul Schrader comments on the scope of his work. He defines his corpus in
light of his theory and explains why he chose to focus on Ozu, Bresson and Dreyer, rather than other
filmmakers. In the introductory chapter of his work, in reference to his aim of seeking out a
transcendental style across cultures, he states:
Two directors have defined the transcendental style—Yasujiro Ozu in the East and Robert
Bresson in the West. They have taken an intellectual, formalistic approach to film, and
their films are the culminant products of erudite and sophisticated cultures. The family44
office cycle of Ozu’s later films and the prison cycle of Bresson’s middle films construct a
similar style to express the Transcendent. Carl Dreyer employs the transcendental style
extensively, although his films are not prescriptive of the style, as are Ozu’s and Bresson’s.
[...] This essay could be extended to consider additional examples of the partial (and
partially successful) use of transcendental style in certain of the films of Budd Boetticher
and Roberto Rossellini. Although these would be valuable variations on the theme, three
examples should be sufficient to carry the weight of the argument. (Schrader,
Transcendental Style in Film 10)
In this short citation, it becomes clear that Schrader suggests that his work is consciously implemented
into films by the filmmakers. He speaks of filmmakers having defined the transcendental style, as well
as the fact that the style is being “used” (applied) and a filmmaker is “partially successful” in doing so.
While it might be true that some filmmakers may have done this (especially after reading Schrader’s
work on the style), it seems questionable that this happened years before Schrader’s work was
published.
Within film studies there has been an ongoing debate about precisely this question: what is the
role of the filmmaker within film interpretation? This question connects to the so called auteur theory,
a term coined to describe the idea that a film director is responsible for a film similarly to how a writer
is responsible for his or her book or a painter for his or her painting. Auteur theory prioritizes the
expression of the director within the final product over everything else, including the screenwriter –
who initially came up with the story (Thompson and Bordwell 381). A highly influential work within
the theory (perhaps the most influential) is François Truffaut’s essay A Certain Tendency in French
Cinema, published in 1954. Truffaut draws on the idea that film has the ability to reflect and express
the directors ideas, but that a director must develop a distinct style in order to be an auteur. This leads
Truffaut to have greater admiration for some filmmakers, rather than others (Truffaut 16), something
Thompson and Bordwell explain as a scandal (Thompson and Bordwell 382).
Auteur theory problematizes the idea of film interpretation. To illustrate using the subject of
the first chapter of this thesis, consider the following question. Did Jean-Pierre Jeunet consciously
choose to depict Amélie as a Christ-figure? Postmodern film theory would argue that it is irrelevant, as
the interpretation of the viewer holds a higher priority. Auteur theory, other the other hand, would
argue that only by examining the director’s intentions can Amélie be constituted as a cinematic Christfigure.
It is not my aim to thoroughly examine auteur theory. What I will suggest at this point is the
fact that Schrader’s model of transcendental style is far more universally applicable than Schrader
presents it to be and that his model is positioned much more on the postmodern, interpretation side of
the debate, rather than necessarily suggesting the style to be only present in the work of so called
auteurs. Even if one does not agree that Schrader seems to suggest that a very limited number of
45
filmmakers display the transcendental style, or when one does not agree that Schrader claims that
filmmakers consciously implement the transcendental style into their films, it cannot be denied that
Schrader focuses on a narrow corpus of films. This is evident in the fact that he analyzes the work of
three filmmakers, and suggests the consideration of his transcendental style in only a few more.
Furthermore, having published his book in 1972, the work does not consider movies after this year.
Therefore, apart from the fact that Schrader is exceptionally conservative as to who displays a
transcendental style in his or her films, the age of his work – currently 41 years – limits the corpus of
his work even more.
At this point, I must add that scholars have interpreted Schrader’s theory of referencing the
transcendent much wider than his corpus suggests. Schrader’s film (both as a director and a writer)
alone, even after having stated that he does not display a transcendental style himself (Bliss 9), have
been considered from this perspective (Fraser 1988; Hamilton, “Transcendental Style in Schrader:
Bringing Out the Dead”; Nichols 1981). Furthermore, in 2005 Lisa Elliot published “Transcendental
Television? A Discussion of Joan of Arcadia” which applied Schrader’s model onto television drama
Joan of Arcadia, and the essay “Transcendental Realism in Documentary” (2008) by Erik Knudsen
sought to depict a transcendental style in documentary film. In a different work named “Types of
Emotion and Classic Narrative Mechanisms”, Erik Knudsen furthermore refers to Victor Erice’s
Quince Tree Sun (1992), as well as Kaige Chen’s Life On A String (1991), as portraying a
transcendental style (Knudsen, “Types of Emotion And Classic Narrative Mechanisms” 6-7).
This list is by no means complete, but I am merely trying to illustrate that the scope of
Schrader’s work has been widened by scholars in the past. By analyzing the style of Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, I will attempt to widen this scope even further – to
include contemporary French cinema. I shall illustrate that the model of transcendental style is also
applicable to recent films and that above all, Schrader’s limitation of looking only at several auteur
filmmakers is unnecessary. Paragraph 3.4. will begin by distinguishing the style of Le Fabuleux Destin
d’Amélie Poulain, which is in line with Schrader’s claim that a transcendental style is evident in the
style of a film. Similar to how Schrader argues that the transcendental style becomes visible by
analyzing the techniques of a film, I will subsequently consider the three steps of Schrader’s model
within the stylistic elements of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. In the conclusion on this thesis,
other than reflecting on the individual chapters, I will furthermore give suggestions for improving the
model within the scope of contemporary cinema.
3.4. The transcendental style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film
Whereas the first analysis, in chapter two, focused mainly on a narrative consideration of the film –
considering parts of the Christ narrative as displayed in the narrative of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain – in this chapter I wish to analyze the distinctive style of the film as indicative of what Paul
Schrader has called a transcendental style. As explained in the previous paragraph, this model includes
46
three stages displayed in a film: the “everyday”, “disparity” and “stasis”. In this chapter I wish to
propose that within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain this style is sheltered in the distinctive
colors of the film To build my argument, I shall first distinguish the style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet by
looking at the film statistically – that is, in numbers. This has partly been done in chapter one, while
discussing Vanderschelden’s book Amélie. However, Vanderschelden did not consider the specific
counting of color types within each scene, and can therefore not draw conclusions specifically derived
from these numbers. I shall add this to the statistical consideration of the style of the film.
Methodologically, this chapter will draw on Barry Salt’s groundbreaking essay “Statistical
Style Analysis of Motion Pictures”, as well as Thomas Elsaesser and Warren Buckland’s application
of this theory in Studying Contemporary American Film. I shall explain what Salt proposed in his
essay first, before describing the stylistic elements, as well as the counting of those elements, within
Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain.
3.4.1. Barry Salt’s theory of statistical style analysis
At this point the question arises how one can distinguish a cinematic style. What constitutes as part of
a style and why would a given cinematic element be part of that film’s style, as opposed to something
else which is not necessarily part of its style. A solution to these questions was offered by Barry Salt,
who argued that a filmic style can be recognized by systematically counting the recurring technical
elements of a film. Doing so, Salt argues, allows a film scholar to extract a blueprint of the film,
something which can be compared to other films. In light of this, Salt’s method is often used to
attribute films of which the filmmaker is unknown to a filmmaker.
Of course, within this thesis, it is not my aim to apply Salt’s theory in a similar manner.
Therefore, I must point out that I will apply his method in a slightly different way than Salt has
intended it. Firstly, as opposed to what Salt proposes, I wish to distinguish the style of one specific
film, rather than of a filmmaker in general. I do not wish to compare Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain to other films, but will rather define the style of this film specifically through statistical
analysis. In this regard, my analysis shall be similar to that of Barry Salt, but our methodologies will
differ.
Secondly, while it is true that Salt proposes to statistically consider the choices made by a film
director, he focuses in his article on “those variables that are most directly under the director’s control”
(Salt 13). By this, Salt in effect means the duration of shots (shot lengths), the different types in “terms
of closeness” (framing) and camera movement (13). In regard to this, he states: “These analyses could
be extended in various directions” (13), suggesting the analysis of other stylistic elements within the
film. The fact that I will primarily count the use of colors in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain,
makes that I will look at different technical elements than Salt, although Salt had accounted for this
discrepancy, evident in the previous citation.
47
What Barry Salt proposes in his theory is to count to occurrences of given stylistic elements
within a film, and comparing these numbers to other films by the same director, as well as other films
of other directors within the same genre. The numbers of each film are normalized to a number “to
correspond to the number there would be if the movie was 90 minutes long” (14), effectively making
the length of a film irrelevant, as numbers become comparable by taking an average. What Salt is after
is distinguishing which technical choices are to be expected within a given film (for example, because
other filmmakers within the genre apply it as well) and which elements are unique to a specific
director.
It is of extreme importance to understand that this is not what I will attempt to do within the
analysis of this chapter. Rather, I am after distinguishing the style of one specific film. I am at this
point merely trying to illustrate that I conduct an analysis in this chapter which places itself in a
tradition started by Barry Salt’s “Statistical Style Analysis of Motion Pictures”. I therefore draw on
Salt’s suggestion of recognizing style in “the numbers” of a film, but will apply a method that is only
similar to that of Salt. I use his theory because it provides an answer to the question how one can
distinguish a filmic style, as well as what one must count as being part of a filmic style, not because of
the general application of his theory – which is different to my application.
What I will do in this chapter is, firstly, refer back to the statistical considerations of the film
by Vanderschelden. While these numbers will prove to be a good starting point, I will complement
these numbers by referring to my own scene-by-scene consideration of the film (attached to this thesis
as Appendix B). Most importantly, Vanderschelden only briefly considers the colors of the film – that
is, the occurrences of the different categories of colors (such as sepia, black and white and highly
saturated colors). Following this, I shall argue that Paul Schrader’s transcendental style is recognizable
in the color types of the film. By comparing the occurrences of certain color categories to their place in
the narrative, I shall argue that each category of colors (I shall define the categories in the following
paragraph) connects to one of the three stages of Schrader’s transcendental style model, thus
illustrating his theory within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie.
3.4.2. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain by the numbers
Vanderschelden presents several interesting figures about the film in her book, neatly organized in a
table named “Digital visual and special effects in Amelie” (Vanderschelden 56). In this table, she
describes seven types of effects, along with their number of occurrences and several examples.
Accounted for are 15 blue-screened shots, 35 composited shots (what I refer to in this thesis as
superimposed shots) and six 2D and 3D animations of objects (real objects, but animated to move,
such as Amélie’s bedside lamp). Furthermore, there are five CGI objects or signs, such as Amélie
“sacred heart”, three morphings and warpings and 12 matte paintings, of which the clouds in the shape
of animals are an example (scene 12). Lastly, combined, there are 23 accelerated and slow-motion
48
shots, an example being the scene in which Amélie composes the letter for Madeleine Wallace (scene
99). (56-57)
Furthermore, the usage of different types of effects in the film are pointed out in a second table
(although not necessarily counted). Here, Vanderschelden uses the classification of special effects by
Christian Metz, published in his 1977 ‘“Trucage” and the Film’. This model consists in
Vanderschelden’s book out of visible effects, invisible effects (not seen but guessed) and
imperceptible effects (neither seen, nor perceived). This table thus complements the first. Within the
three categories of perception, there is a distinction between technical special effects (earlier referred
to as mechanical effects) and digital (post-production) effects. The first, technical special effects,
contains “live light effects” as visible and the “creation of model buildings or models to replace real
ones as invisible. There are no effects in the last “imperceptible” category. The second, digital (postproduction) effects, are perceived in the film within all three categories: morphings and warpings, 3D
animations and CGI, color effects (saturation), talking photos and accelerated/slow-motion shots in the
“visible” category and blue-screened shots, compositing and insertion of objects and images and matte
paintings as “invisible” (but guessed) effects. Lastly, the deletion of unwanted objects and color
grading are accounted for as “imperceptible” effects. (57-58)
The reason I summarize these two tables of data is to point out the fact that while they provide
enough statistical information to compare the style of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain to other
films (would one wish to do so), Vanderschelden never attempted to map the use of colors in the film
(although they are briefly mentioned in both of the two tables). It must be noted that in other parts of
the book Vanderschelden does refer to the three dominant colors of the film: red, green and yellow. As
shown in chapter one, she states that the first two colors are used to contrast objects and characters and
that green is often associated with feelings and moods. However, other information can be
distinguished by considering the colors of the film and I shall attempt to argue for a transcendental
style within the coloring of the film below. For this reason, I have counted the occurrences of the
different color categories in the film within my scene breakdown of the film, attached as appendix B.
From these calculations, I conclude that there are three types of coloring within the film, each of which
links to one of the steps of Paul Schrader’s transcendental style.
As briefly mentioned in paragraph 2.4.2., the three color types are as follows. Predominantly,
there are the heavily saturated colors of the film (which make up the largest part of the film) within
which the green, red and yellow colors manifest themselves. These colors make up the standard color
palette of the film. Secondly, there are scenes which use either de-saturated or fully monochrome
colors, such as black and white or sepia. At first sight it seems that these two uses of colors might not
fall into the same category. However, looking at their role within the narrative of the film, it becomes
clear that Jean-Pierre Jeunet did use them for the same strategy, which is why they can be categorized
as one. Primarily, they are applied for the introduction of characters, as well as for flashbacks, diegetic
video images and photographs. They are often an indicator of time (or a lack of time), both explicitly
49
(jumps in time within the syuzhet) and implicitly (the capturing of time in objects such as
photographs). Lastly, and perhaps most interestingly, there are four moments in which neither of the
previous two uses of color can be recognized. Rather, within these shots (taking place in scenes 50, 55,
65 and 85), the color of a single object or person is heavily highlighted and saturated beyond even the
saturation of the first category. These colors are used to emphasize a single object or person and
aesthetically convey a sense of out-of-the-ordinary. The four occurrences of this type of coloring are
the halo of the blind man after Amélie has escorted him down the shopping street (scene 50), the
beating heart of Amélie after she sees Nino at the train station (scene 55), the key of Collignon’s
apartment which Amélie has duplicated, shining through the pocket of her jacket (Image 6) (scene 65)
and the superimposed images of Nino’s hobbies while Amélie attempts to return to photo album
(scene 85).
Image 6: The key to Collignon's apartment shines through Amélie's pocket. (00:51:45)
Important to understand is the fact that, due to the distinct coloring of not only entire scenes, but also
of objects or persons individually, the manifestation of all three color categories overlap. While there
is a total of 127 scenes (including title screens) in the film, the sum of the different color types is
higher than this number. In fact, there are very little scenes which exist entirely out of the colors of the
second or third category. The first category can thus be argued to contextualize the other two uses of
color, as they occur most often within scenes which display the regular color palette of the film. Note
that the counting below is the counting of scenes (Table 1). A scene displaying, for example, both a
de-saturated television screen and a black and white photograph is therefore counted as one occurrence
in the second category.
50
Color category
Number of scenes with
Selected examples
occurrences
1. Normal colors (saturated)
122
- The opening shots of the film
(scene 1)
- Scenes at Collignon’s shop
(scene 31 and others)
- Scenes at Raymond Dufayel’s
apartment (for example scene
41)
2. Monochrome (de-saturated,
25
black and white, sepia)
- The likes and dislikes of each
character (predominantly scene
20)
- Television screens and
photographs throughout the
movie (For example scene 13)
- Amélie traveling the metro
(for example scene 42)
- Dominique Bretodeau’s
flashback to his childhood
(scene 48)
- Amélie imaging why Nino has
not arrived at Les Deux
Moulins (scene 110)
3. Heavily saturated
(highlighted objects)
4
- Blind man’s halo (scene 50)
Amélie’s beating heart (scene
55)
- Key shining through Amélie’s
pocket (scene 65)
- Nino’s previous hobbies
(scene 85)
Table 1: A breakdown of the different color categories of the film, with their number of occurrence and
selected examples.
51
3.4.3. The three color categories as indicative of Paul Schrader’s model
Now that the three color categories have been distinguished (refer to appendix B for a full list of the
occurrences of the different categories), the question remains how these categories connect to Paul
Schrader’s model of transcendental style. For this, I propose to think of Schrader’s steps not as
chronological, unfolding within a film one after each other, but rather as a layered structured,
interwoven throughout the film, but still contextualizing each other and contrasting the different
elements as Schrader intended it. Considering the three parts of the model as interwoven layers rather
than successive steps, the theory becomes more universal and allows for a wider interpretation within
film, while at the same time keeping the different parts of the model intact. The reason I propose this
alteration to the model is the fact that there is no real necessity for a chronological unfolding of the
different parts, as an interwoven presentation of the three elements would still display the same
contextualization of the individual parts and thus still display a suggestion of transcendence within a
filmic style – as Schrader argues, through a static object, the stasis.
To illustrate this proposition, I shall connect the three color types of Le Fabuleux Destin
d’Amélie Poulain to the three components of Schrader’s style: the displaying of a dull everyday, the
suggestion of something more beyond this everyday life (disparity) and the expression of the
transcendent through an object (stasis). It has to be noted that all three color categories of the film are
displayed throughout the film, mixed rather than preceding each other, thus being an example of my
aforementioned suggestion in regard to Schrader’s model. By connecting the use of the colors within
the film to their narrative roles, I shall illustrate that each of the color types displays one of Schrader’s
parts.
Firstly, the dull, banal world of the everyday, which Schrader argues to be “cold and
meaningless”, finds expression in the de-saturated and monochrome colored elements of the film. As
stated in chapter one, Vanderschelden argued that time and space in Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain are characterized by circularity, an everyday life in which time becomes meaningless. More
than anything, this is displayed in the de-saturated and monochrome aspects of the film, which is not
only used to literality capture time in video images and photographs (thus capturing the circularity,
allowing for an endless repetition of a given image), but also the displaying of the likes and dislikes of
a number of characters, illustrating the circularity of their favorite and least favorite activities and
objects – and thus of their lives. Here, circularity becomes a key term within this color category, a
term which easily connects to a dull, banal everyday life, as Schrader had intended.
Secondly, the displaying of a “crack within the surface” of this dull everyday life – the
disparity – can be recognized within the “normal” color palette of the film: the saturated coloring in
which red, green and yellow are dominant. Due to the fact that these colors make up the largest part of
the film, one has to consider the entire movie (recurring motifs and themes) in order to find the
disparity in it, which is hidden in the fact that the narrative portrays a story – as described in the
52
introduction of this thesis – in which everyone is both searching for love and seeking to work towards
a better self. Building on the circularity of the everyday, the characters are positioned as having
trouble leaving their habits (previously described as their “comfort zone”), yet they are either seeking
or are encouraged to do so. It is within this consideration that Amélie performs her acts of kindness, in
an attempt to bring happiness and love to those around her. These good deeds thus become what
Schrader calls the “decisive action”, they are an attempt to break through the everyday. These deeds
are most often characterized by confusion, as well as a sense of intervention by a “higher power”
(discussed in chapter two). In sum, the dull everyday life of the characters is what Amélie wants to
break out of, leading her to encourage those around her to better themselves. For this, she decides to
perform her acts of kindness, giving the recipient a glimpse of what life outside the everyday is like.
Thirdly, what Schrader calls “stasis” can be connected to the third layer of colors: the
highlighting of objects through heavy saturation. As pointed out, there are four objects within the film
displayed in such a manner: the blind man’s halo (scene 50), Amélie’s beating heart (scene 55), the
key shining through Amélie pocket (scene 65) and the superimposed footprints in cement (scene 85).
These can be broken into two categories. Firstly, there are two objects which link to Amélie’s good
deeds: the blind man’s halo and the key shining through her pocket. Secondly, the portrayal of
Amélie’s heartbeat and the superimposed footprints are connected rather by theme: a passion for
something. However, what all four examples have in common is the fact that they become completely
unrealistic portrayals of reality, things clearly not of this world, yet they are accepted by the viewer as
part of the diegetic world. Here, a reference to a “second reality” becomes clear: they are objects that
reference a reality outside this reality (in which an outward beating heart, halos, visual portrayal of
passions and a key shining through a pocket are possible), yet it is not fully clear what that “other”
reality is. They are merely suggesting it, similar to how Schrader describes it.
Interesting about Amélie’s beating heart and the blind man’s halo is that, similar to how
Schrader states that Ozu, Bresson and Dreyer draw on other “artistic-religious expression”, a
connection between religious iconography and the suggestion of transcendence exists. These two
forms of iconography played a role in the second chapter of this thesis as well, when I argued that they
are indicative of Amélie as a female cinematic Christ-figure, as well as the deeper religious
connotations of the film. In the introduction of this thesis, I questioned where an overlap may be
recognized between the depiction of cinematic Christ-figures and cinematic transcendence. It is
precisely here that a connection exists between the two concepts: religious iconography often plays a
role in cinematic transcendence, while the same iconography can be suggestive of a Christ-figure.
Within Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, this turned out to be the case with Amélie’s sacred
heart, as well as the blind man’s halo. However, it is not unlikely that within other films a similar
connection can be established using other forms of religious icons. I shall elaborate further on this
connection between the cinematic Christ-figure and cinematic transcendence in the conclusion of this
thesis.
53
In this chapter I have argued for the existence of what Paul Schrader called a transcendental
style in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. For this, I began by introducing
this term, drawing primarily on Paul Schrader’s book Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson,
Dreyer. I then continued by explaining each of the three parts of Schrader’s model (the “everyday”,
“disparity” and the “stasis”), as well as another important consideration of Schrader: the fact that the
transcendental style often refers to other religious-artistic expression. Subsequently, I discussed
Schrader’s limited scope, explaining my aim of making this theory one of interpretation, rather than
part of the “auteur theory” tradition. At the same time, I argued that scholars have applied Schrader’s
model widely in the past (including, but not limited to, onto Schrader’s own films, who has explicitly
stated not to portray a transcendental style).
At the beginning of paragraph 3.4., I positioned myself in a tradition started by Barry Salt. Salt
argued that to described the style of a given filmmaker or film, one must count the occurrences of
certain stylistic and technical elements of a film. I referred back to Vanderschelden’s statistical
considerations of the film to show that Vanderschelden had not considered the use of colors
statistically. Drawing on a composed scene list of the film (attached as appendix B), I pointed out
three color categories in the film. Subsequently, I connected these types of colors to each of the stages
of Schrader’s model (predominantly through the film’s draw on circularity). It is in this that I argued
for the existence of a transcendental style in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s film.
54
Conclusion
This thesis has attempted to draw a connection between female Christ-figures and cinematic
transcendence. For this, three distinctive steps were taken, each of which makes up one chapter. Other
than the overarching goal of relating the concept of the Christ-figure to the concept of transcendence,
each of the chapters had an aim in itself. However, before summarizing the individual chapters and
their aims, I consider it necessary to point out the corpus of this thesis. Firstly, the film under
consideration has to have a protagonist striving towards doing good. Secondly, the film cannot include
religion as its core theme. Rather, the theme of religion can only reveal itself through further cinematic
analysis. Furthermore, the film has to have been released after 2000 and to be definable as a box-office
hit, evident in its commercial success. With this corpus in mind, I chose to analyze Jean-Pierre
Jeunet’s Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. The fact that I aimed to describe a relation between
the two concepts made that I decided to focus on a single film only. Analyzing multiple films would
problematize the validity of the relation.
Chapter one began by discussing literature and discourses surrounding the film. Its aim was to
contextualize both the film under consideration, as well as this thesis itself. Firstly, I used Isabelle
Vanderschelden’s Amélie to discuss and outline the narrative of the film, as well as the style of JeanPierre Jeunet. Secondly, I mapped the landscape of scholarly works about the film and attempted to
show that these works predominantly focus on the questionable representation of Paris (and France as
a whole). Lastly, I discussed two brief religious considerations of the film, one of which discussed the
asexuality of Amélie, while the other (non-academic work) mentioned Amélie as a Christ-figure.
Therefore, while the discussion of Vanderschelden’s Amélie was used to contextualize the film, the
second part of the chapter showed a knowledge gap in terms of the absence of analyses from a
religious perspective. By examining the film from two religious angles this thesis attempted to
(partially) close this gap.
Chapter two focused on the analysis of Amélie as a female Christ-figure. The aim of this
chapter was to comment on the method of other cinematic Christ-figure analyses. The chapter began
with a discussion of the notion of the Christ-figure, as opposed to that of the Jesus-figure, by referring
to Lloyd Baugh’s Imaging the Divine: Jesus and Christ-figures in Film. Subsequently, it discussed the
methodologies of two scholarly works which discuss different films from a Christ-figure perspective.
While these essays argue for the possibility of female Christ-figures, I argued that their applied
methods were incomplete and that a more systematic approach is needed. In light of this, I turned to
Anton Kozlovic’s twenty-five Christ-figure characteristics. These characteristics offer a way of
analyzing cinematic Christ-figures, but are presented by Kozlovic in a rather unorganized manner.
Therefore, I proposed to file the characteristics into three categories: “social role and associates”,
“spirituality and divinity” and “personality, conduct and appearance”. After this, I turned to Le
Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain to analyze Amélie as a female Christ-figure on the basis of the
55
previously established characteristics and categories. Within this study, the scenes showing Amélie’s
symbolic death and her good deeds, as well as the introduction of the film played a central role.
Furthermore, I briefly discussed the role of cinematic techniques within the depiction of Amélie as a
female Christ-figure. Here, it was pointed out that there are two important iconic religious symbols in
the film: that of the sacred heart, as well as that of the halo.
Chapter three continued with the analysis of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain from a
second religious perspective, that of transcendentalism. For this, I discussed the origins of the concept,
after which I focused on Paul Schrader’s work on a cinematic transcendental style. Schrader argues
that a film, through a specific use of style, is able to refer to a transcendent – something or someone
outside of reality. For this, he suggests three chronological steps, each displayed within a film: the
everyday, disparity and the stasis. I argued that Schrader presents his theory within the auteur
tradition, amongst other reasons evident in the fact that he chooses to focus on (and considers the style
to be present in only the work of) a limited number of filmmakers. The aim of this chapter was to
allow the model to be applied more universally. For this, I suggested to think of the different steps of
the model as interwoven layers, rather than distinguishing the different parts of the model as
successive steps. Subsequently, I attempted to distinguish the style of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain as displaying a transcendental style. Here, the chapter drew on a tradition started by Barry
Salt: the depiction of a cinematic style through statistical analysis. Most importantly, I argued for the
existence of three color categories within the film: monochrome and de-saturated, saturated (with an
emphasis on red, green and yellow), as well as heavy saturation of specific. I attempted to connect
these three color categories, which all appear throughout the film, to the different parts of Schrader’s
model. I argued that the monochrome colors of the film are characterized by circularity and thus
portray what Schrader calls the “everyday”. Furthermore, I established the default saturated color
palette of the film as “disparity”, arguing that within this color palette the characters are encouraged to
leave their habits and thus to break through the “everyday”. Lastly, I argued that the different heavily
saturated objects suggest a transcendent, this is what Schrader calls “stasis”. They are part of the
diegetic world, yet they cannot possibly exist in this universe. Therefore, they propose a second
reality, one existing in parallel to the reality of Amélie.
At this point, I wish to refer back to the overarching aim of this thesis. While seeking to
establish a connection between the cinematic female Christ-figure and cinematic transcendence, I
discovered that it is within this last category of “stasis” that a connection with the cinematic Christfigure can be recognized. Evident in the fact that both the depiction of Amélie as a female Christfigure and the analysis of a transcendental style in the film draw on religious iconography of the
sacred heart and the halo, a connection exists between the two concepts. In other words, both rely on
what Schrader calls other “artistic-religious expression”. However, it has to be noted that the icons of
the sacred heart and the halo must be considered examples. Similar analyses from both perspectives
within different films might reveal a draw on other religious iconography.
56
In light of this, it would be interesting to apply an analysis from both the (female) Christfigure perspective, as well as the perspective of transcendentalism, to different films. This would
illustrate the universality of the proposed relation. Additionally, I encourage further application of
both the Christ-figure characteristics and their categories within different films and genres. Similarly,
further use of the altered version of Paul Schrader’s transcendental style model (as a model of
interwoven layers) is advised through this thesis. This way an ongoing critical engagement with the
original theories by Kozlovic and Schrader is facilitated. In sum, the proposals made in this thesis are
meant as a stepping stone towards the further development of these theories. They are not finalized
models, but should rather be seen as open to discussion and interpretation.
57
Appendix A: Kozlovic’s twenty-five Christ-figure characteristics
This appendix will provide a numerical breakdown of Anton Kozlovic’s twenty-five Christ-figure
characteristics, as discussed and applied in chapter two. While chapter two discusses all the
characteristics, I wish to provide the reader of this thesis the opportunity to read the characteristics in a
systematical manner, similar to how Kozlovic described them in his work. Note that this entire
appendix is based on citations from Kozlovic’s “The Structural Characteristics of the Cinematic
Christ-figure”.
1.0 TANGIBLE: Some scholars like Donna Bowman (2001) have argued for the existence of
absent Christ-figures, but these Christic protagonists are usually tangible, visible and frequently
colourful characters, albeit sometimes only partially exposed or mysteriously delayed in
progressive revelation fashion (usually done as a dramatic suspense-building device). [...]
2.0 CENTRAL: Christ-figures are usually central characters of the film, just like the Son of God is
central to the second half of the Christian Bible that is boldly prefaced [...]
3.0 OUTSIDERS: Christ-figures are usually outsiders of their communities, vaguely defined as
from "above" or "beyond" or "out there" and thus they are in the world but not of the world [...]
4.0 DIVINELY SOURCED AND TASKED: Christ-figures usually arrive through some form of
deliberate "divine" intervention by a distant God-figure. [...]
5.0 ALTER EGOS: [...] Christ-figures usually have alter egos, and/or double lives, and/or dual
natures, one fantastic and the other mundane. This pronounced duality is especially noticeable in
the superhero Christ-figures, but it is not limited to them. [...]
6.0 SPECIAL NORMAL: Christ-figures are special, extraordinary beings even though they
usually appear as "normal" human beings (aliens, animals, objects) during their mundane, nonsuperhero times, as Jesus, the divine son, who could walk on the sea [...]
7.0 TWELVE ASSOCIATES: Christ-figures sometimes have the iconic number of twelve intimate
friends associated with them, representing Jesus' twelve Apostles [...]
8.0 THE HOLY AGE: Sometimes the Christ-figures begin their "divine" mission when they reach
the mystical age of thirty, the biblical age when Jesus started doing his Father's will [...]
9.0 A BETRAYER ASSOCIATE: One of the intimates and/or acquaintances of the Christ-figure
plays the Judas-figure, that is, a close friend or associate who betrays him for unwholesome
reasons [...]
10.0 A SEXUALLY IDENTIFIED WOMAN: There is frequently a Mary Magdalene-figure
floating around the Christ-figure, a sexually tagged woman who is related to him in some close
way, but who does not know how properly to express her sexuality with him.
58
11.0 A POINTING PROPHET AND BAPTISM RITES: Sometimes there is a John the Baptistfigure who identifies and/or points the way to the Christ-figure [...]
12.0 A DECISIVE DEATH AND RESURRECTION: Christ-figures are commonly involved in
some form of sacrifice, usually involving bloodshed, suffering and death (i.e., the embodiment of
Christ's passion) [...]
13.0 TRIUMPHALISM: Christ's death results in triumphal victory, even if it seems a Pyrrhic
victory at the time. [...]
14.0 SERVICE TO "LESSER," SOMETIMES UNGRATEFUL OTHERS: The Christ figure's
sacrifice and/or death is specifically for others based upon higher principles, and it is usually done
with honesty, sincerity and nobility (i.e., not trite, selfish or deluded reasons). Those saved are
usually of "lesser" worthiness, ability, talent, power, etc., than the Christ-figures themselves. [...]
15.0 A WILLING SACRIFICE: Having assumed the mantle of Christhood, Christ-figures are
frequently empowered to choose sacrifice out of their newfound knowledge, status, position,
mission requirements, etc. Jesus knew that he was to die as a ransom or sacrifice for humanity [...]
16.0 INNOCENT: Although Christ-figures are frequently accused of, or are even found guilty of
crimes, they are innocent and are often treated unfairly. [...]
17.0 A CRUCIFORM POSE: Christ-figures are frequently displayed in cruciform poses, an
unmistakable visual emblem of their Christic nature. [...]
18.0 CROSS ASSOCIATIONS: Sometimes Christ-figures are accompanied by cross imagery, the
signature sign of Christianity based upon the Roman instrument of execution [...]
19.0 MIRACLES AND SIGNS: On occasion, the Christ-figure is identified by other iconic Jesus
behaviours, e.g., exorcising demons (Luke 8:2), raising the dead (John 12:1), miraculous healings
(John 5:5-9), turning water into wine (John 4:46), and particularly, Jesus' mastery over physical
nature. [...]
20.0 SIMPLICITY: Christ-figures frequently appear as nerds, klutzes, bumbling simpletons,
mentally unbalanced, or fools [...]Alternatively, they display cognitive innocence and child-like
trust [...]
21.0 POVERTY: Frequently associated with Christ-figure simplicity is their poverty; alternatively,
this is rendered as either a lack of wealth, or the troubling question of what to do with money if
available. [...]
22.0 JESUS' GARB: PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL: Many cinematic Christ-figures are clothed
to look like popular image of Jesus in his iconic white robes (i.e., the colour of purity and
holiness). [...]
59
23.0 BLUE EYES: Cinematic Christ-figures are frequently depicted with blue eyes; not Semitic
brown eyes as one would expect from an ethnic Jew with a Jewish mother living in the rustic,
desert environments of Judaea. [...]
24.0 HOLY EXCLAMATIONS: Someone, either directly or indirectly, on-screen or off-screen,
refers to the Christ-figure protagonist as God or Jesus by literally saying: "My God!" or "Oh God!"
or "Jesus Christ!" or "Jesus!" or "Christ!" or "Gee!". [...]
25.0 J. C. INITIALS AND "CHRIS" REFERENTS: Sometimes, the names of the Christ-figures
literally have the initials J. C. (Jesus Christ). [...] (Kozlovic 8-22)
60
Appendix B: Narrative structure and scene list
This appendix aims to bring structure to the complex narrative of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie
Poulain. I shall first, through a citation, list the twelve different parts Isabelle Vanderschelden points
out in her book Amélie. However, due to my dissatisfaction with this extremely brief summary of the
structure of the narrative, I have decided to break the narrative down into an entire scene list (Table 2).
The aim of this scene list, other than attempting to define the entire structure of the film, is
twofold. Firstly, I wish to map the different uses of color within the film. These categories of color
usage are part of the depiction of a transcendental style within the film in chapter three. Secondly, I
wish to give the reader of this thesis the opportunity to contextualize any reference to the film within
this thesis. Often, I shall list the scene number in brackets behind a given reference to Le Fabuleux
Destin d’Amélie Poulain. These references refer to the scene list below.
These two aims of this structure breakdown constitute the different columns (parameters)
considered. In the first column I outline each scene by giving a brief description. This description
includes a categorization of the scene (allowing for relations between scenes to be recognized), the
time codes (with scene length), as well as noteworthy side notes (that is, stylistic elements which do
not occur regularly throughout the film, or useful information regarding the narrative, such as scenes
without Amélie). The other columns depict the location(s) where the scene takes place, the
character(s) involved in the scene and its different uses of color.
Several side notes must be made at this point. Firstly, at times scenes require two descriptions.
This can either be the case when it is worth noting a subcategory (indicated with the prefix “sub”) or
whenever a scene fits into two categories at once (for example, when a scene connects to two good
deeds of Amélie). There are also scenes which do not belong to any category (but simply have a
descriptive name assigned to them). These scene can therefore be seen as contextual, because they
most often provide additional, non-essential information. Most of these scenes contextualize the good
deeds of Amélie or are part of Amélie’s “cat-and-mouse” game with Nino. It is furthermore important
to understand, in regard to the same column, that the numbering of the description refers to the amount
of times this description has been relevant. This can also be the case with subcategories and secondary
categories.
Secondly, several pieces of information within the breakdown are provided for future research.
Primarily, this includes the scene lengths, as well as a part of the notes. I may not have a direct need
for them within the argument of this thesis, but I do not wish to withhold this information as I am
currently in the position to easily include it. Lastly, a strong connection between the action(s) column
and the color(s) column must be pointed out. While I have attempted to keep the scene list as brief as
possible, I must describe a detailed scene summary in order to be able to point out all the different
color categories within the scenes. For example, at times a scene makes use of the default saturated
color palette of the film, but at the same time shows a black and white photograph in the background.
61
In order to be able describe this photograph (and other such elements), a detailed reading of the scene
is needed.
The definition of what constitutes a scene is somewhat difficult. Bordwell and Thompson
define the word as: “A segment in a narrative film that takes place in one time and space or that uses
crosscutting to show two or more simultaneous actions.” (Bordwell and Thompson 480) Similarly and
somewhat more complete, Pramaggoire and Wallis define it as: “A complete narrative unit within a
film, with its own beginning, middle and end. Often scenes are unified, and distinguished from one
another, by time and setting.” (Pramaggoire and Wallis 437). While these definitions seem straight
forward, they also signify an important problem of the notion: the fact that distinguishing scenes is a
matter of interpretation. At times, it is simply not clear where a given scene begins or ends, something
Raymond Bellour also points out in his book The Analysis of Film (Bellour 29).
Yet, I have attempted to apply the definition of Pramaggoire and Wallis within my depiction
of the scenes of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain. It is true that a negligible amount of times I had
to choose whether to count a cut as an indicator of a new scene, where others may argue this was
incorrect. Still, this does not problematize the validity of the scene list, as it will still prove to be useful
whenever someone wishes to contextualize a given film reference within this thesis. I wish to note that
while Pramaggoire and Wallis define both “time and setting” as indicators of a coherent scene, I have
chosen to also consider sound as an indicator of a new scene – albeit never in itself, only when an
abrupt end of a certain sound is accompanied by a distinctive cut.
Referring back to aforementioned scholar Raymond Bellour, I wish to point out that within
this appendix I have used Bellour’s method of discussing Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest
(1959) as an example. In this analysis, Bellour discusses the different modes of transportation used in
the film and brings structure to this element of North by Northwest by using a table which features a
column devoted to the “means of locomotion” (175). He furthermore numbers the segments of the film
and describes the actions. Similarly, in my attempt to discuss the colors of Le Fabuleux Destin
d’Amélie Poulain, I designed my table to include a numbering, as well as a specific column listing the
colors of the film. I furthermore describe the actions, in addition to the location and the characters
featured in the scene.
Vanderschelden’s breakdown of the film
1. A 20 minute prologue, using voiceover narration, retraces Amélie's childhood, from her
perspective in 1973 to the time when the story really starts in 1997, and introduces the film’s main
characters.
2. Amélie discovers the treasure box in her flat on 30 August 1997, just as she hears of Princess
Diana’s death on television.
62
3. Amélie investigates to indentify the owner of the box. she meets various neighbours in the
process (the concierge, the painter, the grocer's parents...) and eventually tracks down Dominique
Bretodeau. She first meets Nino on the metro platform: love at first sight.
4. Amélie returns the box anonymously, witnessed Bretodeau’s reaction and decision to renew
contact with his family. Amélie's new-found joy in helping others triggers her decision to help
repair the lives of other people around her.
5. She immediately begins by helping the blind man in the street. She then stages her first scheme.
She steals her father’s garden gnome, and misses the last train.
6. Nino loses his photo album while chasing the bald man in the red shoes. From then on, Amélie
tries to track him down. She confides in her neighbour the painter.
7. Amélie devises more schemes. She plays matchmaker between Georgette and Joseph at the
café; she borrows the key and rigs the grocer’s flat as a revenge for his cruelty to Lucien.
8. Looking for Nino: Amélie visits the sex shop where Nino works and talks to Eva. She plays
hide and seek with him in Sacré-Coeur, the Foire du Trône, in the metro and the train stations.
9. Nino is now looking for Amélie too. Amélie reads the concierges letters and creates a new fake
one. The mystery of the bald man in the red shoes is solved. She sets a meeting with Nino at the
café, but can't bring herself to introducing herself.
10. Amélie arranges another rendez-vous in the station, to reveal to Nino the identity of the bald
man in the red shoes. She remains hidden. The supposedly lost letter arrives in the concierge’s
letter box.
11. Amélie bakes a cake dreaming about happiness. Nino knocks on the door. She hides. He goes
away. She watches the painter’s tape. He returns. She opens the door. They kiss.
12. Epilogue: the two lovers embark on their romance driving round Paris on a scooter. All the
subplots are resolved. (Vanderschelden 30-31)
Complete scene list of Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain
Scene description / Timecode
(Length) / Categorization /
Notes
1. Opening credits
Location(s)
Character(s)
Action(s)
-
-
-
Streets of
Montmartre,
restaurant, Eugène
Person in car,
Eugène
Colère,
[Voiceover narration]
Collage sequence:
water is running down
Type(s) of color
00:00:00 - 00:00:37 (37
seconds)
2. Introduction 1
00:00:37 - 00:01:36 (59
Saturated
(standard color
63
seconds)
Colère’s apartment
pregnant
woman, baby,
doctor.
a sidewalk, a fly is
seen, which the
narrator talks about. A
car drives by. On a
table of a restaurant
the table cloth and
glass “dance” due to
wind. Eugène Colère
is seen erasing his best
friend from his
address book, after
returning from his
funeral. “A sperm
with one X
chromosome” is
shown as swimming
faster than others.
Following this, a
pregnant woman is
shown, her belly
growing (time lapse).
A baby is born, a
doctor holds him.
palette)
-
-
A hand pushes the
letters of the credits in
place.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home
Amélie
[Voiceover narration] Saturated
Amélie is seen playing (standard color
with toys/games,
palette)
doing little tricks.
Titles on screen. At
times, the titles
(somewhat) match
what Amélie is doing
(for example, wearing
glasses during the
“director of
photography” title and
making a musical
sound during the
“musique” title)
Station, swimming
pool, bathroom,
others
Raphaël
Poulain,
Amandine
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie parents, along
with their likes and
dislikes, are
Sub: Birth of Amélie
3. Title
00:01:36 - 00:01:47 (11
seconds)
4. Introduction 2
00:01:47 - 00:03:21 (94
seconds)
Sub: Amélie as child.
Further titles
5. Introduction 3
00:03:21 - 00:04:49 (88
Woman time
lapse: de-saturated
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
64
seconds)
Poulain
introduced. Examples
are Amélie’s father
who is seen cleaning
his tool box (which he
likes), and Amélie’s
mother who is seen
buying fruit and
sitting in a bathtub
(part of which she
both dislikes).
Amélie’s home.
Kitchen
Raphaël
Poulain,
Amélie
[Voiceover narration] Saturated
Amélie sits on the
(standard color
kitchen table, her
palette)
father uses a
stethoscope to listen to
her heart.
Amélie’s home.
Living room
Amandine
Poulain,
Amélie
Amélie is being home
schooled by her
mother. She is asked
to repeat a sentence
written on a chalk
board.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Kitchen
Amélie,
[Voiceover narration]
imaginary
Amélie is dressed up
CGI crocodile as a doctor and
examines a crocodile,
an effect of her
imagination, with a
stethoscope. She
shakes her head.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home,
neighbor’s home
Amélie,
neighbor
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie makes an LP
“like pancakes” and
sits bedside her
neighbor who is in a
coma.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Hallway, living
Amélie, Fish
Blubber,
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie’s fish Blubber
Saturated
(standard color
Sub: Amélie’s parents
6. Introduction 4
00:04:49 - 00:05:14 (25
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s relation with
parents
7. Introduction 5
00:05:14 - 00:05:28 (14
seconds)
Sub: Being separated from
other children
8. Introduction 6
00:05:28 - 00:05:38 (10
seconds)
Sub: Imagination
Note: Occurrence of CGI
crocodile
9. Introduction 7
00:05:38 - 00:05:55 (17
seconds)
Sub: Imagination 2
10. Introduction 8
65
00:05:55 - 00:06:28 (33
seconds)
room.
Amandine
Poulain,
Raphaël
Poulain
jumps out of its fish
bowl under kitchen
equipment, Amélie
screams. Amélie’s
mother uses a
broom/vacuum, but is
unable to get the fish.
Amélie’s father uses a
jack to lift the
equipment. The fish is
put back into the
bowl, Amélie’s
mother screams
“enough”.
palette)
Public park
Amélie,
Amandine
Poulain
Amélie’s mother
pours the fish bowl
into a stream in a
public park. The fish
falls into the stream,
looks up to where
Amélie and her
mother are standing. It
begins to rain. Amélie
drops the entire, now
empty, fish bowl into
the stream.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Outside
Amélie,
neighbor,
others
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie takes pictures
of the clouds. Two
cars bump into each
other. A neighbor
talks to Amélie
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Living room
Amélie
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie watches
television, sees
accidents on
television.
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie sits on the
roof of her neighbor.
The neighbor is
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
Sub: Introduction of the
family’s nervousness
11. Introduction 9
00:06:28 - 00:07:01 (33
seconds)
Sub: Further scaring of
Amélie’s childhood 1
12. Introduction 10
00:07:01 - 00:07:27 (26
seconds)
Sub: Imagination 3
13. Introduction 11
00:07:27 - 00:07:42 (15
seconds)
Sub: Further scaring of
Amélie’s childhood 2
14. Introduction 12
00:07:42 - 00:08:29 (47
Neighbor’s living
room. Outside on
roof
Amélie,
neighbor
TV: de-saturated.
66
seconds)
Sub: Young Amélie’s
personality
15. Introduction 13
Amélie,
Amandine
Poulain,
tourist
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie and her
mother light a candle
in the Notre Dame.
They walk out and a
tourist who commits
suicide by jumping of
the church, lands on
Amandine. She dies.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Garden
Amélie,
Raphaël
Poulain
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie is pushing the
swing on which a
stuffed animal sits.
Her father is working
on her mother’s altar
and places her ashes
on it.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Garden
Amélie
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie stands behind
a window, looking
out. A small part of
the garden is shown
and the weather
changes rapidly,
suggesting the passing
of time.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s home.
Garden
Amélie
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie is now grown
up. She is seen
walking through the
garden with two
suitcases.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Les Deux Moulins, Amélie,
TV
others
[Voiceover narration]
The outside of Les
Deux Moulins is
Saturated
(standard color
Sub: Death of Amélie’s
mother
00:08:51 - 00:09:10 (19
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s childhood with
her father - loneliness 1
17. Introduction 15
00:09:10 - 00:09:29 (19
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s childhood with
her father - loneliness 2
18. Introduction 16
00:09:29 - 00:09:41 (12
seconds)
Sub: Amélie leaves the house
19. Introduction 17
00:09:41 - 00:09:59 (18
TV: de-saturated.
Notre Dame
00:08:29 - 00:08:51 (22
seconds)
16. Introduction 14
watching a football
match in his living
room. At crucial
moments in the match,
Amélie unplugs the
antenna of her
neighbor’s television.
He becomes mad.
67
seconds)
shown. Amélie is seen
inside carrying a tray.
A few shots of
indistinguishable TV
are shown, as well as
Amélie in a Zorro
mask. Amélie is seen
writing on window in
Les Deux Moulins.
palette).
Suzanne,
Georgette,
Gina,
Hipolito,
Joseph,
Philomène,
Philomène’s
cat Rodrigue,
customers
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie’s co-workers
are introduced, with
their likes and
dislikes. They are
shown working in the
café, waiting
customers or acting
out the things they
like (for example,
Joseph who enjoys
popping bubble wrap).
Saturated
(standard color
palette) and black
and white.
Train station
Amélie,
clochard
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie offers money
to a homeless, who
refuses
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Kitchen.
Amélie,
Raphaël
Poulain
Amélie and her father
sit at the dining table,
eating. Talking.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Movie theater
Amélie,
cinema
visitors
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie sits in the
theater, looks back
over her shoulder. She
talks about what she
likes and dislikes
(respectively noticing
details in films that
are not often noticed
and scenes in which
drivers do not watch
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
Sub: Amélie’s work
20. Introduction 18
Les Deux Moulins
00:09:59 - 00:11:09 (70
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s co-workers
21. Introduction 19
00:11:09 - 00:11:18 (9
seconds)
TV: de-saturated.
Amélie in Zorro
mask: black and
white.
Flashbacks: black
and white.
TV: black and
white.
Sub: Amélie relation with her
father 1
22. Introduction 20
00:11:18 - 00:11:41 (23
seconds)
Sub: Amélie relation with her
father 2
23. Introduction 21
00:11:41 - 00:12:10 (29
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s personality 1
Film: black and
white.
68
the road).
24. Introduction 22
Amélie’s bedroom
Amélie, man
[Voiceover narration] Saturated
Amélie is having
(standard color
sexual intercourse
palette)
with a man, but seems
uninterested and
smiles directly into the
camera
Collignon’s
Vegetable shop, at
a table, Canal St.
Martin.
Amélie,
Collignon,
others
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie plunges her
hand into a sack of
grain, breaks the
Crème brûlée with a
spoon and is seen
skipping stones on a
river (Saint Martin
Canal).
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment. Kitchen
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie looks out of
her window, onto her
neighbor Dufayel who
is painting. She closes
the window, turns off
the light and watches
him with a monocular.
He is seen painting
through her view
(POV shot).
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Rooftop
Amélie,
others
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie sit on a
rooftop, watching out
over the city. Shots
are shown of people
having sexual
intercourse. Amélie
turns towards the
camera and says
“fifteen”.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment. Living
room/bathroom
Amélie
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie is in her
bathroom, applying
perfume. Her
television is on, it
shows a news
broadcast surrounding
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
00:12:10 - 00:12:17 (7
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s personality 2
25. Introduction 23
00:12:17 - 00:12:50 (33
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s personality 3
26. Introduction 24
00:12:50 - 00:13:35 (45
seconds)
Sub: Introduction of Amélie’s
neighbors 1
27. Introduction 24
00:13:35 - 00:14:01 (26
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s personality 4
28. Introduction 25
00:14:01 - 00:15:26 (85
seconds)
Sub: Amélie’s personality 5,
context 1
TV: de-saturated.
69
the death of Princess
Diana. Amélie drops
the cap of the perfume
bottle, which rolls
onto a tile of her
bathroom wall. She
walks to pick up the
cap and notices that
the tile has loosened.
She removed the tile
to discover a little box
in a hole behind the
tile. She dusts it off
and opens the box to
find toys, which she
examines as she
smiles. She turns off
the TV.
29. Introduction 26
00:15:26 - 00:15:47 (21
seconds)
Amélie’s
apartment.
Bedroom
Amélie
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie stares
into/past the camera
while the narrator
talks about Amélie’s
plan to do good deeds.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Madeleine
Wallace’s room
Amélie,
Madeleine
Wallace
(Amélie’s
neighbor)
In an attempt to find
the owner of the box,
Amélie visits the
concierge of her
building Madeleine
Wallace. She invites
Amélie in, she pours
them a drink and leads
the conversation to be
about her and her
former husband (she
shares their history
with Amélie).She
takes out old letters
from him and reads
some of it to Amélie.
Ultimately, she
advices Amélie to go
see grocer Collignon
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
Sub: Amélie’s personality 6,
context 2
Note: End of introduction
30. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 1
00:15:47 - 00:18:48 (181
seconds)
Introduction of Amélie’s
neighbors 2
Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 1
Picture on the wall
of Madeleine’s
former husband:
black and white
70
about her question.
31. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 2
Collignon’s
vegetable shop
Amélie,
Collignon,
Lucien,
others
[Voiceover narration]
It is raining. Amélie
tries to put her hand
into a bag of seeds,
but is interrupted. She
looks up and
Collignon asks her
what she would like to
buy. She asks him
about the person who
lived in her apartment
(the owner of the
box). Lucien is seen
smelling and carefully
picking vegetables for
a costumer. Collignon
speaks badly of
Lucien for his
behavior. Amélie
smiles at Lucien.
Collignon advices
Amélie to go see his
parents.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Collignon’s
parents’ home. On
street.
Amélie
Amélie arrives at the
home of Collignon’s
parents. She picks up
a stone outside the
house - for skipping and rings the bell.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Collignon’s
parents’ home.
Garden
Amélie,
Collignon’s
parents
Amélie and
Collignon’s father are
sitting at the garden
table. Collignon’s
father tells Amélie the
name she is after.
Collignon’s mother
arrives with a stack of
books, she spills
coffee by accident
while putting down
the books. They talk
and the mother finds
the same name in the
book that the father
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:18:48 - 00:19:49 (61
seconds)
Introduction of Amélie’s
neighbors 3
32. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 2
00:19:49 - 00:20:08 (19
seconds)
Sub: Collignon’s parents 1
33. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 3
00:20:08 - 00:21:17 (69
seconds)
Sub: Collignon’s parents 2
71
had already told
Amélie.
34. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 3
Underground
metro station
Amélie, blind
man, Nino
Quincampoix
[Voiceover narration]
Amélie walks down
the stairs of an
underground metro
station, she hears
music and walks to
find the source. She
finds a blind man
sitting on a bench with
a record player. She
smiles, gives him
some money and
notices Nino
Quincampoix poking
under a photo booth
with a ruler. Amélie
observes him until he
notices her.
School
Nino
Quincampoix,
classmates,
teacher
[Voiceover narration] De-saturated
A young Nino
(sepia)
Quincampoix is
carried by his
classmates towards a
small garbage bin. The
teacher enters and
looks disturbed.
Paris
Nino
[Voiceover narration]
Quincampoix, A young Nino
Amélie
Quincampoix and a
young Amélie signal
each other by
reflecting sunlight on
a small mirror.
00:21:17 - 00:22:34 (77
seconds)
Sub: Travelling
Introduction of Nino
Quincampoix 1
35. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 4
00:22:34 - 00:22:44 (10
seconds)
Sub: Traveling 2
Introduction of Nino
Quincampoix 2
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Sub: Flashback 1
36. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 5
00:22:44 - 00:22:53 (9
seconds)
Sub: Traveling 3
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Introduction of Nino
Quincampoix 3
Sub: Flashback 2
Note: the only flashback not in
72
monochrome coloring.
37. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 6
Underground
metro station
Nino
Nino, still on his
Quincampoix, knees by the photo
Amélie
booth, looks at
Amélie, after which
Amélie quickly
leaves. Nino
continues.
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Kitchen.
Amélie,
Raphaël
Poulain
Amélie’s father is
Saturated
sitting at the kitchen
(standard color
table, working on a
palette)
garden gnome. Amélie
enters and kisses him.
They talk briefly.
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Garden.
Amélie,
Raphaël
Poulain
Amélie father places
the garden gnome on
the altar build for
Amélie’s mother.
They talk about ones
youth and childhood
treasures.
Les Deux Moulins
Gina,
customers,
Georgette,
Joseph,
Suzanne,
Amélie, blind
man
Gina is performing
Saturated
manual therapy
(standard color
(cracking bones) of a
palette)
customer. Two
customers enter,
Georgette screams to
close the door, Gina
responds. Joseph
observes. Suzanne
enters, Amélie works
on tables. Gina laughs,
Joseph rewinds a tape
recorder and replays
the laugh. He notes
the time and a
description of the
laugh on the recorder.
Suzanne responds
00:22:53 - 00:23:06 (13
seconds)
Sub: Travelling 4
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Introduction of Nino
Quincampoix 4
38. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 7
00:23:06 - 00:23:27 (21
seconds)
Introduction of the garden
gnome 1
39. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 8
00:23:27 - 00:24:09 (42
seconds)
Introduction of the garden
gnome 2
40. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 9
00:24:09 - 00:25:20 (71
seconds)
Amélie’s co-workers 2
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
73
angry. Georgette has
sold something to the
blind man and talks to
Suzanne about food
she cannot handle.
41. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 10
Les Deux Moulins
Amélie,
Suzanne
Amélie looks in a
phone book, searching
for Bredoteau, goes
out of the booth and
ask Suzanne if she can
leave early. She
responds.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Door, house, on
the street
Amélie,
Dominique
Bredoteau
Amélie rings the door
bell of a house with a
name tag “Dominique
Bredoteau”. A young
man opens the door,
Amélie talks with him
(makes up an excuse)
and leaves. She checks
her note book on the
street, travels by
metro.
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
00:25:20 - 00:25:38 (18
seconds)
Amélie’s co-workers 3
42. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 11
00:25:38 - 00:26:22 (44
seconds)
Sub: Going by houses 1
43. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 12
Door, elevator,
hallway of
apartment building
Amélie,
woman
Amélie rings another
door bell. She is told
to go to the third floor
of the building, she
enters, takes the
elevator. As she steps
out, a woman says
“Hello, kitten”.
Amélie turns around.
Amélie shakes her
head and smiles.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Outside, metro
Amélie
Amélie crosses out
another name in her
note book. Travels on
the metro, goes up an
escalator.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Hallway of
apartment building
Amélie,
others
Amélie rings a door
bell, a woman comes
walking down the
stairs. Amélie says she
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:26:22 - 00:27:00 (38
seconds)
Sub: Going by houses 2
44. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 13
Metro: desaturated
00:27:00 - 00:27:07 (7
seconds)
Sub: Going by houses 3
45. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 14
00:27:07 - 00:27:28 (21
74
seconds)
is looking for
Bredoteau, the woman
says she has “just
missed him”. People
carry a coffin down
the stairs.
Sub: Going by houses 4
46. Finding Dominique
Bretodeau 15
00:27:28 - 00:30:26 (178
seconds)
Introduction of Raymond
Dufayel
Sub: Amélie as the girl in the
painting 1
Hallway/stairs of
Amélie’s
apartment
building,
apartment of
Dufayel
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie walks up the
stairs, Dufayel speaks:
”Bre-to-deau”. Amélie
turns around. He
invites Amélie into his
home, she slowly
follows him. They
speak about the fact
that this is the first
time they meet.
Dufayel turns on
lights, he introduces
himself. Amélie walks
around the apartment,
observing, sees
Dufayel painting.
Dufayel points out
that she has been
looking for the wrong
name (as it is spelled
Bretodeau). They talk
about Dufayel’s
painting. Dufayel
opens curtains to
reveal his paintings
(all the same), which
they talk about.
Dufayel searches a
piece of paper, Amélie
looks at a video
camera. Dufayel sits
down by his painting,
they speak about the
girl in his painting
(which quickly turns
into talking about
Amélie’s life).
Dufayel hands Amélie
the address of
Dominique Bretodeau.
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
75
47. Returning the box to
Dominique Bretodeau 1
00:30:26 - 00:32:07 (101
seconds)
48. Returning the box to
Dominique Bretodeau 2
00:32:07 - 00:32:57 (50
seconds)
Sub: Bretodeau’s flashback
Shopping street,
home of
Bretodeau.
Kitchen
Dominique
Bretodeau
[Voice over narration] Saturated
Bretodeau walks
(standard color
down a shopping
palette)
street. He is seen
carving a chicken,
which the narrator
explains. He takes a
bite of the chicken. He
is seen walking down
the street again. As he
walks past a phone
booth, the phone
rings. Bretodeau stops
and looks at it,
carefully approaches
and enters the booth.
He picks up the
phone, Amélie is seen
hanging up a different
phone behind a
window and
Bretodeau does the
same. He sees the box,
which Amélie found
behind the bathroom
tile and placed there,
in the phone booth. He
studies it, Amélie is
observing from behind
a window. Bretodeau
opens the box and
raises his eyebrows.
He studies the content
and gasps, becomes
emotional.
Outside, garden,
schoolyard,
Young
Dominique
Bretodeau,
cyclists,
Bretodeau’s
aunt,
classmates,
teacher
[Voice over narration]
A young Bretodeau is
seen playing a game,
followed by a shot of
the Tour the France.
Following this, his
aunt is seen hanging
up laundry in her
nightgown, at which
young Bretodeau
peeps through a hole
in the wall. Lastly, he
Black and white
76
is seen playing with
marbles with his
classmates. He wins
and tries to put all the
marbles in his
pockets. The teacher
blows his whistle and
the students form a
line. Bretodeau
continues putting the
marbles in his
pockets, the teacher
becomes angry,
screams at Bretodeau,
blows his whistle
angry. The teacher
walks up to him and
grabs Bretodeau by
his ear. As they walk,
the pockets of
Bretodeau’s jacket rip
and all the marbles fall
out. The students yell.
49. Returning the box to
Dominique Bretodeau 3
00:32:57 - 00:34:41 (104
seconds)
Sub: Evaluation
Café
Amélie,
Dominique
Bretodeau,
waiters,
others
Amélie is in a café,
Bretodeau walks in
and order a cognac,
Amélie drinks
nervously from her
wine, looks the other
way. Bretodeau
speaks to the waiters
behind the bar about
finding the box, call
whoever arranged this
(Amélie) a guardian
angel. Amélie smiles.
He reflects on his life
and begins to speak to
Amélie, who still
looks the other way.
He tells her about his
daughter and
grandchild. He tells
Amélie he will look
them up, Amélie
swallows her wine in
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
77
one go.
50. Good deed: the blind man
00:34:41 - 00:36:15 (94
seconds)
Bridge Pont des
Arts, shopping
street
Amélie, blind
man,
pedestrians
[Voice over narration]
Amélie walks (in slow
motion) over a bridge
(Pont des Arts) over
the Seine. The blind
man is standing at the
edge of the sidewalk,
ticking his white cain
against it. Amélie
stands behind him,
looks at him, walks up
to him and takes him
by the hand. She helps
him cross the street
and walk down the
street, describing what
she sees (the florist,
the bakery, the prices
of the butcher, a baby
watching a dog and
others. She leaves him
at the kiosk at the
metro shop and walks
up stairs. The blind
man looks up at the
sky and gains an
intense red glow
(similar to a halo).
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
Amélie’s
apartment. Kitchen
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie is in her
apartment, preparing
dinner. She smiles and
looks out the window
towards her neighbor
Dufayel, who is also
having dinner by
himself. Her smile
goes away. She looks
at her prepared dinner
and mumbles words
spoken by her parents
in the past (about her
loneliness), angry.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment.
Amélie
(Dufayel,
[Voice over narration]
Amélie sits on her
Saturated
(standard color
Note: Occurrence of blind man
halo
51. Amélie’s loneliness
00:36:15 - 00:37:01 (46
seconds)
52. Amélie’s death
00:37:01 - 00:38:45 (104
78
seconds)
53. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 1.
00:38:45 - 00:39:34 (49
seconds)
Sub: Stealing the garden
gnome 1
Bedroom
Metro, Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Garden.
blind man
and others on
television)
couch,
emotional/crying,
eating. She watches
on television a news
memorial broadcast in
honor of her,
supposedly after her
death. A voice over
narrator discusses her
life, intentions, and
images are shown of
her own life. She is
called a “Madonna”,
there is a funeral
procession in honor of
her, she is shown as
nun, washing the feet
of the blind man, and
helping people. There
is a coffin in which
her body lays, being
carried, lower into the
ground.
palette).
Amélie
Thinking about her
life/what she has
“seen” on television,
Amélie travels on the
metro to her father’s
house. She tries to
open the door, but it is
locked with a door
chain. She grabs a
small stone
(presumably to throw
against a window in
order to wake her
dad), but she decides
not to throw it. Rather,
she looks at the
garden gnome, puts
the stone in her
pocket, and uses a
chisel to remove the
gnome from the
concrete it is
connected to. She
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
TV broadcast:
black and white.
79
leaves.
54. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 2.
Metro
Amélie,
employee of
metro
Amélie runs towards a
closing metro gate,
but is unable to enter.
She is seen sleeping in
a photo booth,
clinging on to the
garden gnome, an
employee of the metro
is cleaning the
hallways.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Train station, hall
Amélie,
(near photo booth), others, Nino,
inside/outside
man (photo
booth repair
man)
Amélie walks through
the train station with
the garden gnome
under her jacket. She
sees Nino
Quincampoix, who is
again trying to pull
photos from under a
photo booth. He looks
up, a heartbeat can be
heard. Amélie’s heart
is shown beating and
glowing. Nino runs
towards Amélie, but
passes her and runs
after a man. Amélie
follows him. They go
out of the station, up
some stairs. Nino has
to get around several
people, and loses
some papers in the
process which he has
to pick up. The man
gets into a car and
drives off. Nino jumps
onto a motor bike,
starts it and follows
the man. He loses a
bag, but does not
notice. Amélie runs
towards the bag and
picks it up.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Train station
[Voiceover narration]
Saturated
00:39:34 - 00:40:01 (27
seconds)
Sub: Stealing the garden
gnome 2
55. The photo album 1
00:40:01 - 00:41:37 (96
seconds)
Sub: Amélie receives the
photo album
Note: Occurrence of Amélie’s
beating heart
56. The photo album 2
Amélie,
80
00:41:37 - 00:42:16 (39
seconds)
others
Amélie sits on the
steps of the train
station, looking at the
photo album that was
in Nino’s bag. People
walk in and out of the
station behind her.
She closes the book.
(standard color
palette)
Georgette,
customers,
Gina, Amélie,
Suzanne
A customer asks
Georgette to buy a
pack of cigarettes. She
is busy putting eye
drops in her eyes and
tells the customer to
wait a moment. She is
upset with the smoke
in the café. The
customer guides
Georgette into finding
the right package (due
to her watering eyes)
and the customer
pays, but Georgette is
unable to give back
change due to her
vision. The customers
walks away irritated.
Gina takes orders
from other customers
and gets into a small
argument with Joseph,
who records a word of
their conversation on
this recorder. Amélie
and Suzanne are
working behind the
bar, a customer talks
to them. Gina involves
herself in the
conversation. They
talk about true love,
Joseph observes.
Gina, Georgette and
Amélie feel bad for
Suzanne. They talk
about “a recipe” for
true love, which
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Sub: Studying it 1
57. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 1
00:42:16 - 00:45:02 (166
seconds)
Les Deux Moulins
81
involves taking two
“regulars” and making
them believe they love
each other. Amélie
looks from Joseph to
Georgette. Joseph asks
for a refill on his beer,
Amélie walks up to
him and talks to him
about Georgette. He
looks puzzled, Amélie
leaves.
58. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 2
Les Deux Moulins
Gina, Amélie,
Georgette
Gina leaves the café.
Georgette and Amélie
are cleaning.
Georgette begins
talking to Amélie
about Joseph. Amélie
tells Georgette that
Joseph is suffering,
lonely. Amélie says
that she “must have
noticed”, Georgette is
puzzled. Amélie sits
Georgette down where
Joseph always sits and
they talk about
Georgette’s cigarette
counter and Joseph’s
view on it from where
he sits. Georgette
becomes irritated,
Amélie leaves.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Outside, kiosk
Amélie, kiosk
seller, Joseph
Amélie walks up to
the kiosk and looks at
the newspaper article
(80 year old Swiss
receives letter after 30
years). The kiosk
seller starts talking
about Princess Diana
to Amélie, Joseph
walks by. The seller
asks whether Joseph is
still romantically
interested in Gina, but
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:45:02 - 00:46:23 (81
seconds)
59. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 3
00:46:23 - 00:47:22 (59
seconds)
Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 2
82
Amélie says he is now
going after someone
else. The seller asks
question about who.
She is surprised.
60. The photo album 3
Apartment of
Dufayel
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie and Dufayel
Saturated
are looking at the
(standard color
found photo album,
palette)
seeking out a man
which is visible on
multiple pages.
Amélie skips through
the pages, points at
him. They read the
location/date of the
pictures. The discuss
the purpose of the
man. Amélie suggests
it is a kind of ritual,
perhaps of a dead
person. Dufayel walks
to his painting and
covers it with a cloth.
Amélie talks about the
girl in the painting, the
discuss the girl
further.
Amélie’s
apartment.
Bedroom
Amélie
Amélie sits in bed,
skips through the
pages of the photo
album. Shots are
shown of torn photos
in the book, pages
flipping. A small jump
in time, she is now
sleeping. The TV is
still on, on it is a
running horse visible.
The horse is running
alongside cyclists.
Amélie wakes up,
grabs the remote
control and presses a
button. A red light
indicates the
television is now
00:47:22 - 00:49:26 (124
seconds)
Sub: Discussing the photo
album with Dufayel
Amélie as the girl in the
painting 2
61. The photo album 4
00:49:26 - 00:50:15 (49
seconds)
Sub: Studying it 3
Good deed: Inspiring
Raymond Dufayel 1
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
TV: de-saturated
83
recording. The horse
is seen running
amongst the cyclist.
62. Good deed: Inspiring
Raymond Dufayel 2
00:50:15 - 00:50:36 (21
seconds)
63. Good deed: helping Lucien
1
00:50:36 - 00:51:28 (52
seconds)
Sub: Introduction of the
problem
Apartment
building of
Amélie.
Hallway/stairs.
Amélie
Amélie is seen
walking down the
stairs in her apartment
building. She lays an
envelope under the
door mat of a door.
She turns around and
sees the keys of a
different door are left
in it (by accident). She
quickly walks up to
the door, grabs the
keys and leaves by
walking further down
the stairs.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Outside Amélie’s
apartment. On the
street
Amélie,
Collignon,
Lucien,
woman, man
Amélie steps out her
Saturated
door, onto the street.
(standard color
Collignon and Lucien palette)
are seen in the
vegetable shop,
talking to customers (a
woman, a man).
Amélie walks up to
them, holds up the
keys and wants to give
them back to
Collignon, whom they
belong to. He
interrupts her and
speaks bad of Lucien,
insults him about
being slow. Hits him
on the back of his
head. The woman says
that he should not do
that. He continues
insulting Lucien, who
quickly leaves, upset.
Amélie shakes her
head. He turns to
Amélie, asks her what
she wants. She says
84
“nothing” and leaves.
64. Good deed: helping Lucien
2
Street
Amélie
Amélie is walking
quickly, down a
shopping street. The
keys can be heard as
she walks. She enters
the door of a key
shop.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Apartment
building of
Amélie.
Hallway/stairs.
Amélie
Amélie place the keys
she took from the door
back. She turns
around and as she
walks, a key is visible,
lighting up through
the pocket of her
sweater (indicating the
duplication of the key
at the shop). She
walks down the stairs.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Street, kiosk
booth.
Georgette,
kiosk seller
Georgette buys a
Saturated
magazines/newspapers (standard color
at the kiosk. The seller palette)
says that her migraine
seem to have gotten
better, says she looks
good, that it must be
because of love.
Georgette seems
surprised and leaves.
The seller looks at her.
Les Deux Moulins
Amélie,
Suzanne,
Hipolito,
Gina,
customers,
Georgette,
Joseph
Amélie enters Le
Deux Moulins,
Suzanne is working
behind the bar,
Hipolito sits opposite
her. The three talk,
Gina responds too
from further back in
the café. Georgette is
looking at Joseph,
Joseph looks over her
shoulder towards her.
They both quickly
00:51:28 - 00:51:39 (11
seconds)
Sub: Duplicating the keys
65. Good deed: helping Lucien
3
00:51:39 - 00:51:48 (9
seconds)
Sub: Putting back the key
Note: Key is visible through
Amélie’s pocket
66. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 4
00:51:48 - 00:52:11 (23
seconds)
Sub: Georgette is feeling better
because of her love
Note: First scene without
Amélie
67. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 5
00:52:11 - 00:53:16 (65
seconds)
Sub: Glancing at each other Good deed: Hipolito’s
sentence 1
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
85
look elsewhere.
Amélie asks about the
book of Hipolito, he
tells the story. Gina is
seen performing
manual therapy on
customers. Georgette
and Joseph glance at
each other again.
68. Good deed: helping Lucien
3
Collignon’s
vegetable shop
Collignon,
Lucien,
Amélie
Collignon is again
shouting at Lucien,
upset that he is too
slow. Ironically
Collignon asks
whether Lucien knows
what time it is. Lucien
tries to look on his
watch and drops the
box he is carrying.
Collignon talks bad
about Lucien towards
Amélie. Amélie just
stares at him and
leaves.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Hallway of
Amélie’s
apartment
building.
Collignon’s
apartment.
Amélie,
Dufayel
Amélie opens the door
of Collignon’s
apartment, she goes in
and closes the door
behind her. She walks
into the living room
and looks at
Collignon’s slippers.
She sees the size. She
opens a closet and
cuts a piece of
shoelace off one of the
shoes. She goes into
the bathroom, stands
by the mirror, looks at
Collignon’s foot
cream and replace the
toothpaste with the
foot cream (they look
similar). She takes out
the pin of one of the
door handles and
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:53:16 - 00:53:27 (11
seconds)
Sub: Collignon continues
being unkind. Amélie decides.
69. Good deed: helping Lucien
4
00:53:27 - 00:55:22 (115
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 1
86
reverses it (one side
has a handle, the other
a knob). She takes off
the lid of a jar of
whiskey, smells it and
pours salt into it. She
shakes the jar as to
mix it. Amélie’s
silhouette is briefly
seen through a view
similar to that of a pair
of binoculars. She
opens the door of
Collignon’s bedroom,
turns on the light. Sits
on the bed, takes the
clock of the nightstand
and adjusts the dial of
the alarm. She smiles
and is seen closing the
door. She turns the
key around as to lock
the door, takes out the
key.
70. Good deed: helping Lucien
5
00:55:22 - 00:55:25 (3
seconds)
71. Good deed: Hipolito’s
sentence
Hallway of
Amélie’s
apartment
building. In front
of the door of
Collignon
Amélie
Amélie is wearing a
Zorro costume. She
takes out an épée
(sword) and marks the
letter “Z” on the door
with it.
Black and white
(towards sepia)
Train
Amélie, train
conductor,
others
[Voiceover narrator]
Amélie sits on a train,
reading a draft version
of Hipolito’s book.
The voice of Hipolito
speaks the words to it.
Amélie repeats a
sentence out loud and
again to the train
conductor. He asks for
her ticket.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Kitchen.
Amélie,
Raphaël
Poulain
Amélie and her father
are having dinner. Her
father struggles to
keep the conversation
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:55:25 - 00:55:45 (20
seconds)
Note: Voiceover narration by
Hipolito
72. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 3
00:55:45 - 00:57:06 (81
87
seconds)
going. She notices he
is distracted and lies
about her life and
exaggerates what how
she has been doing.
He just nods and says
“good”. Amélie asks
her father whether
something is wrong,
he says “no”. She asks
him where his garden
gnome has gone. He
gets up and takes out a
Polaroid picture. It
show his garden
gnome in front of the
Saint Basil's Cathedral
in Moscow. Amélie
smiles and says that
maybe the gnome
wanted to see the
world. Her father says
he does not
understand and looks
puzzled. Amélie has a
big smile and pretends
to focus on her food.
Sub: Photos of the garden
gnome 1
73. The photo album 5
Train station
Amélie
Amélie gets out of a
train and walks the
platform. She stops
and looks at a piece of
paper, stuck to the
photo booth. Close
ups show the words
“lost”, “bag” and
“photos”. Amélie rips
the paper of the photo
booth.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment.
Bedroom
Amélie, CGI
animals
[Voiceover narrator]
Amélie sits in bed,
flipping through the
pages of the photo
album. The voiceover
and her acting suggest
that she does not want
to return the book.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:57:06 - 00:57:25 (19
seconds)
Sub: Nino is looking for it
74. The photo album 6
00:57:25 - 00:57:55 (30
seconds)
Sub: Studying it 4
Paintings:
saturated
88
Note: Animated paintings, CGI
pig
75. Good deed: helping Lucien
5
00:57:55 - 00:59:18 (83
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 2
Note: Second scene without
Amélie
The pictures of a dog
and a goose begin to
move, the goose
hums. Amélie is
asleep. Amélie’s bed
light, which is in the
form of a pig, begins
to move, looks at
Amélie. The goose
asks whether she is
falling in love, the pig
shakes his head and
pulls the string of his
light, it turns off.
Apartment of
Collignon, street,
Collignon’s
vegetable shop.
Collignon
An alarm rings.
Saturated
Collignon is seen
(standard color
sitting up in bed. She
palette)
alarm clock shows 4
AM. Sleep drunk, he
stumbles into the
hallway and attempts
to open the bathroom
door, but misses the
door handle. He looks
at it carefully and
notices it is a knob,
not a handle. He turns
in and the door opens.
He is confused and
scratches his head. He
stumbles towards the
sink, takes out what he
believes is toothpaste
and begins to brush
his teeth. He
immediately notices
and is heard
screaming loudly.
Collignon steps
outside his door, onto
the street. It is still
dark outside. One of
his shoes is tied with a
piece of regular rope,
instead of a shoelace.
He opens the rolldown shutter of his
89
shop. As it finishes,
Collignon looks
suspicious. He looks
at his watch and
realizes what time it
is. He looks puzzled.
76. Good deed: helping Lucien
6
Collignon’s
vegetable shop
Lucien,
customers,
Madeleine
Wallace
Lucien is serving
customers at
Collignon’s vegetable
shop, they whisper.
Collignon is not there.
Madeleine Wallace
joins them and speaks
rather loud, asks
where Collignon is.
Lucien shushes her
and says he is
“sleeping in the
cauliflowers”.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Les Deux Moulins
Amélie,
Suzanne,
Georgette,
Joseph
Amélie and Suzanne
are working behind
the bar, Georgette sits
behind her counter.
Joseph walks up to
her, she looks up and
reacts slightly
surprised and nervous.
He wants to buy a
scratch card, she gives
it to him, he asks how
it works. She says that
she’ll do one together
with him, in order to
explain it. They are
both rather nervous.
Amélie and Suzanne
are both listening to
what is happening
(while working).
Amélie and Suzanne
are smiling, Joseph
and Georgette both
scratch their scratch
card, they laugh
nervously. Joseph says
that he has to get back
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
00:59:18 - 00:59:38 (20
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 3
Note: Third scene without
Amélie
77. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 6
00:59:38 - 01:00:43 (65
seconds)
Sub: Approaching each other
90
and leaves the counter.
78. The photo album 6
Les Deux Moulins. Amélie
Phone
Amélie dials a number
on the phone. “Porno
Video Palace” picks
up. Amélie says she is
calling for “the ad”
(referring to the
missing photo album
ad). The man asks
whether she is over 18
and whether she is
shaved. Amélie is
confused and quickly
hangs up the phone.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Hallway of
Amélie’s
apartment
building. Staircase
Lucien rings the bell
of Collignon’s
apartment, no one
answers. He opens the
door with a key, puts
inside what he has
brought for Collignon
(bottles). Madeleine
Wallace comes
walking down the
stairs, they talk about
having something to
live for, Madeleine
Wallace seems down,
Lucien seems happy.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:00:43 - 01:01:08 (25
seconds)
Sub: Returning the photo
album 1
79. Lucien has keys to all
apartments
01:01:08 - 01:01:34 (26
seconds)
Lucien,
Madeleine
Wallace
Madeleine Wallace is unhappy
Note: Fourth scene without
Amélie
80. Good deed: helping Lucien
7
01:01:34 - 01:03:51 (137
seconds)
Sub: Dufayel’s help
Good deed: Inspiring
Raymond Dufayel 3
Note: Fifth scene without
Amélie
Hallway of
Lucien,
Amélie’s
Dufayel
apartment
building. Staircase.
Dufayel’s
apartment
Lucien walks down
Saturated
the stairs, towards
(standard color
Dufayel’s door. He
palette)
accidently steps on a
package beneath the
floor mat. He uses his
foot to remove it and
goes inside, says hello
to Dufayel. He has
brought groceries for
Dufayel, and as joke
covered them up with
groceries Dufayel did
not order. He uncovers
the real groceries,
smiling, having fun,
91
until he says: “All
courtesy of Mr.
Collignon”. Lucien
stops him and
encourages him to
badmouth Collignon
(apparently due to
Collignon’s
unkindness). Lucien
makes up names for
Collignon, becomes
enthusiastic. Dufayel
compliments him and
stops him. Lucien
gives Dufayel the
package he found and
leaves (while making
up more names for
Collignon). Dufayel
opens the package, it
contains a video tape.
81. Good deed: Inspiring
Raymond Dufayel 4
Dufayel’s
apartment
Raymond
Dufayel
01:03:51 - 01:04:51 (60
seconds)
82. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 7
01:04:51 - 01:05:29 (38
seconds)
Sub: Joseph expresses to be
willing
Les Deux Moulins
Georgette,
Joseph,
customers
Dufayel puts the video
tape into a video
camera, which is
connected to his
television, and presses
play. The tape shows
the recorded footage
of the horse running
along the Tour de
France, as well as
footage of a acrobatic
show involving a dog
and sister Rosetta
Tharpe playing guitar.
Dufayel watches the
footage closely, seems
slightly confused.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Georgette and Joseph
are both doing a
scratch card again
(scratching quickly),
neither win. Joseph
asks and reaches just
in between/just above
Georgette’s breasts,
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
TV: de-saturated
92
because she has
“something” there.
Georgette shakes,
seems nervous. He
says she is beautiful
when she blushes. She
blames it on her
dyspepsia, they smile.
Note: Sixth scene without
Amélie
83. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 8
01:05:29 - 01:07:12 (103
seconds)
Sub: Climax
Note: Seventh scene without
Amélie
Les Deux Moulins. Joseph,
Bathroom
Amélie,
Georgette,
Suzanne.
Joseph enters the
bathroom and turns on
the water, washes his
hands and face.
Amélie looks at
Georgette, puts a cup
of coffee on a tray and
walks towards
Georgette. She
pretends to trip and
spills the coffee on
Georgette. Georgette
is upset, shouts. She
storms off towards the
bathroom, past
Suzanne who is
working behind the
bar and looks rather
irritated. Joseph is just
drying his face and
Georgette storms in,
they begin to kiss each
other passionately.
Amélie looks at the
door of the bath and
notices a cup and
saucer and spoon
shaking from
vibrations. She looks
towards a bottle of
alcohol, jugs and
glasses with straws.
They are all shaking.
Suzanne is talking to
two customers,
Amélie turns towards
them. The neon
“toilettes” sign begins
to flicker. All
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
93
glassware continues to
shake, Georgette is
heard moaning. The
door to the bathroom
is shown, it shakes,
two faces are seen
behind it. Georgette’s
moaning becomes
loader and reaches a
climax, she screams.
Amélie continues
looking at the
bathroom door, she
smiles. Suzanne and
the two customers turn
their heads and look at
each other awkwardly.
Amélie quickly turns
on the steamer of a
coffee machine as to
make noise, but
everyone had already
noticed.
84. Amélie as the girl in the
painting 3
Dufayel’s
apartment
Dufayel,
Amélie
Amélie is sitting in
front of Dufayel’s
painting, Dufayel
brings cookies and a
drink. Dufayel starts
talking about the girl
on the painting,
Amélie turns away,
seems shy and
embarrassed. Dufayel
says that one cannot
wait, you have to use
the opportunities.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Palace Video
Amélie, seller
male, Eva,
Nino, woman
laughing,
seller female
Amélie walks into sex
shop Palace Video.
There is a customer
and a seller behind a
desk. Employee Eva
walks in (in a
bathrobe), she says
hello to Amélie and
asks whether she
needs help. Amélie is
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:07:12 - 01:07:45 (33
seconds)
85. The photo album 6
01:07:45 - 01:09:29 (104
seconds)
Sub: Returning the photo
album 1
Note: Extremely saturated
94
coloring shows photos of
footprints in cement
carrying the photo
album, Eva says Nino
will be pleased to have
it back. Eva says Nino
is working at the
funfair. They talk
about the photo
album. Eva says that
Nino used to collect
photos of footprints in
wet cement. Photos
are shown in extreme
coloring behind Eva.
Eva says that Nino
used to work as a
Santa Claus when they
met. Behind Amélie
appears Nino as Santa
Claus superimposed.
Amélie and Eva
smiles. Eva tells
Amélie that he also
used to record laughs,
when he heard a funny
one. Next to Eva
appears a
superimposed woman
laughing. Amélie says
that it must be hard
being Nino’s
girlfriend (she is
fishing for
information). A
woman working there
asks Eva where her
coffee is. Eva says she
must go and reaches
out to grab the photo
album from Amélie.
Amélie says she will
take it to the fun fair.
Eva gives Amélie the
information she needs
and Amélie leaves.
Note: Superimposed Nino as
Santa Claus behind Amélie
Note: Superimposed woman
behind Eva laughing
86. The photo album 7
01:09:29 - 01:10:13 (44
Funfair, Horror
ride where Nino
Amélie, ride
ticket seller
Amélie arrives at the
funfair, she stands
next to Nino’s motor
Saturated
(standard color
95
seconds)
works
Marcelle
bike, opposite the
“horror ride” where
Nino works. She picks
up a stone from the
ground and puts it in
her pocket, brushes
her hand past the
motor bike and walks
up to the entrance of
the ride. She asks the
ticket seller (Mercelle)
about Nino. She buys
a ticket and gets in a
cart, it drives off.
palette)
Funfair, Horror
ride where Nino
works
Amélie, Nino
Amélie is inside the
attraction. It is a
horror ride, decorated
with spider webs, fog,
scary creatures etc.
Nino is seen wearing a
skeleton outfit.
Amélie cart drives
past him. Nino is on
Amélie’s cart, comes
behind her. He makes
noises near her ear. He
brushes his finger
along Amélie’s cheek.
Amélie closes her
eyes.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Funfair, Horror
ride where Nino
works
Nino, ride
ticket seller
Marcelle
Nino comes off work. Saturated
He says goodbye to
(standard color
Marcelle. He walks up palette)
to his motor bike and
sees a strip of photos
hanging from it. On
the back is a written
note from Amélie
(anonymously written)
which says to be at the
carousel (mary go
round) in Montmartre
the following day at 5
PM. He looks around.
Nino’s apartment.
Nino, man on
Nino is sleeping. The
Sub: Returning the photo
album 2
87. The photo album 8
01:10:13 - 01:11:09 (56
seconds)
Sub: Returning the photo
album 3
88. The photo album 9
01:11:09 - 01:11:39 (30
seconds)
Sub: Returning the photo
album 4
Note: Eight scene without
Amélie
89. The photo album 10
Saturated
96
01:11:39 - 01:12:43 (64
seconds)
Bedroom
Nino thinks about Amélie 1
Note: Superimposed pictures
of male talking to Nino
Note: Ninth scene without
Amélie
90. The photo album 11
01:12:43 - 01:17:07 (264
seconds)
Sub: Returning the photo
album 5
Outside. SacréCoeur.
photos
photo strip with
Amélie note on it is
taped to his bedside
lamp. The man on the
photo “comes to live”
and tries to wake Nino
and get his attention.
There are four photos
with the same image.
The man in the four
photos ask whether
Nino is curious. All
four move
simultaneously, Nino
wakes up. Nino asks
whether the man has
seen Amélie. All four
pictures are no
moving and speaking
independently of each
other. They laugh and
describe Amélie.
Disagree with each
other. Nino asks what
Amélie wants. The
men guess. Nino turns
around to go back to
sleep, the pictures
quickly tell Nino
Amélie is in love.
They tell Nino he has
always known her,
from his dreams.
(standard color
palette)
Nino, woman, A public phone, in
Amélie, boy, front of the carousel
others
near the Sacré-Coeur,
rings. Nino stands
besides it, a woman
picks up the phone.
The woman says the
phone call is for Nino,
he takes the phone.
Amélie is seen
standing beside
another public phone
and tells Nino to
follow the blue
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Photo: black and
white
Photos: black and
white
97
arrows. Nino does not
understand, but sees
blue arrows on the
ground and walks
along them. Amélie
hides as he passes her.
Nino walks up,
towards the SacréCoeur, looking at the
arrows every now and
again. Bird food is
shaped like an arrow
on the group, birds are
eating from it. Nino
starts running, up the
stairs. Blue arrows
point toward a human
statue (street
performer) who points
up. Nino looks at him
and a boy walks up to
Nino, saying that only
fools look at the finger
pointing towards the
sky. The boy leaves
and Nino looks up to
find out the finger is
pointing towards a
pair of binoculars
(meant for tourist).
The statue winks at
Nino. Nino walks
towards the
binoculars, throws in
money and looks
through them. He sees
Amélie waving at him
with the photo album,
which she puts in the
bag of his motor bike.
Nino runs as fast as he
can back to his bike,
bumping into/dodging
people along the way.
He takes the book out
of the bag. The public
phone behind him
rings again, he picks it
98
up. Amélie says she
knows who the
stranger in the pictures
is, a ghost. Nino asks
who Amélie is, she
replies “page 51”. The
both hang up the
phone. Nino flips
through the book, to
page 51. On it are
several pictures of
Amélie in costume.
They say: “do you
want to meet me?”.
Nino closes the book,
starts his bike and
drives off. Amélie
looks at him as he
drives by, takes off
her sunglasses and
smiles directly into the
camera.
91. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 4
01:17:07 - 01:17:30 (23
seconds)
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Garden
Raphaël
Poulain
Raphael Poulain picks
up the mail at the
letterbox of his house.
There is an envelope,
he sighs. He opens it,
in it are two pictures
of his garden gnome.
One is in front of the
Empire State
Building, the other in
front of the Statue of
Liberty. He turns his
head and looks
around.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Apartment
building of
Amélie. Hallway.
Madeleine
Wallace’s room
Amélie
Amélie walks down
the stairs of her
apartment building.
She passes the door of
Madeleine Wallace, it
is open. She looks
around to make sure
she is alone and goes
in. She walks towards
the cupboard and
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Sub: Photos of the garden
gnome 2
Note: Tenth scene without
Amélie
92. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 3
01:17:30 - 01:17:58 (28
seconds)
99
opens it, grabs the
letters of Madeleine
Wallace’s diseased
husband and leaves.
93. Good deed: Joseph and
Georgette 8
Les Deux Moulin
Georgette,
Hipolito,
Amélie,
Suzanne,
Joseph, Gina
Georgette is knitting
behind her counter,
she is smiling and
moving along to
music. Amélie,
Suzanne and Hipolito
look at her, Amélie
smiles. Georgette
looks towards Joseph
and pretends to be
dancing with him. He
smiles and briefly
moves his lips as if he
is kissing her. They
smile at each other,
Joseph moves his
hand along to the
music. Joseph reads a
newspaper out loud to
the others about a
young boy who drove
his pedal car on the
motor way in order to
see the star. Georgette
says that life is
beautiful. Suzanne
says: “Love. The only
bug she hasn’t
caught!” Gina walks
by and they talk
briefly.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Palace Video
Nino, Eva
Nino and Eva are
pricing adults toys,
they are talking about
Amélie. Nino asks
what she looks like,
Eva’s answer do not
help much. Eva says
she does remember
that Amélie asked
about Nino’s
girlfriend. She tells
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:17:58 - 01:18:49 (51
seconds)
Sub: In love
94. Nino thinks about Amélie
2
01:18:49 - 01:19:33 (44
seconds)
Note: Eleventh scene without
Amélie
100
Nino she told Amélie
that he is not
interested. Nino says
that she did not say
that, Eva responds by
saying that it does not
matter, as he does not
even know Amélie.
95. Good deed: helping Lucien
7
Collignon’s
vegetable shop
Customers,
Lucien,
Collignon,
Amélie
[Voiceover narrator]
Lucien is helping
customers, Collignon
is being unkind again,
this time about the
fact that Lucien likes
to draw. Amélie is
standing behind the
group of customers,
but hears everything.
She turns around,
towards a small
window of the cellar
of a house. There
appears a man, who
tells Amélie what to
say to Collignon in
order to stop his
unkindness towards
Lucien, in a joking,
yet for Collignon
embarrassing way.
Amélie says it.
Everyone begins to
laugh at Collignon, he
becomes silent.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Collignon’s
apartment
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie puts on rubber
gloves, carefully,
looks at them. She
takes slippers out her
bag and replaces
Collignon’s slippers.
Carefully puts them in
the same place as the
old ones. She takes
out a light bulb and
replace it with
another, then puts the
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:19:33 - 01:20:20 (47
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 4
96. Good deed: helping Lucien
8
01:20:20 - 01:21:15 (55
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 5
101
old one back in. She
looks at the wire of
the lamp running to
the outlet socket. She
takes it out and puts
an iron pin through it.
She is seen changing
the phone numbers of
Collignon’s speed
dial. Like previously,
she is seen through the
vision of a pair of
binoculars, Dufayel is
looking at her. She
takes off her gloves,
Dufayel is sitting in
his chair with a pair of
binoculars in his hand.
He lowers his head.
97. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 4
Amélie’s
apartment. Living
room
Amélie
[Voiceover narrator]
Amélie sits in a chair,
spinning it, reading
the letters she took
from Madeleine
Wallace. She lies on
her bed, reading. The
letters lie scrambled
on the floor. Amélie
sits on the toilet, still
reading. She finishes
and looks up as if she
is thinking.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Train station
Amélie
Amélie stands next to
a photocopier. She
puts money in it,
copies, looks at what
comes out.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment. Living
room.
Amélie
Amélie sits behind her
table, rolls up her
sleeves. She looks
directly into the
camera. Picks up a
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:21:15 - 01:22:10 (55
seconds)
Note: Voiceover narration by
Madeleine Wallace’s late
husband
98. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 5
01:22:10 - 01:22:21 (11
seconds)
Sub: Making the letter 1
99. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 6
01:22:21 - 01:22:42 (21
seconds)
102
Sub: Making the letter 2
100. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 7
01:22:42 - 01:23:52 (70
seconds)
Sub: Making the letter 3
pair of scissors and a
piece of paper. Shows
it to the camera, which
moves forward.
Amélie cuts the
piece(s) of paper, its
shown in fast forward
(time lapse). Amélie
shows a blank sheet of
paper, as well as a
glue stick to the
camera. It moves
further forward. She
glues all cut pieces of
paper onto the blank
sheet of paper, again
shown in high speed.
Amélie shows the end
product to the camera:
A letter composed of
what she cut from the
other pieces of paper.
Train station.
Amélie’s
apartment. Living
room. Apartment
of Dufayel
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie stands besides
the photocopier again.
It lights up, copies.
Amélie looks at the
result. She is seen
bathing the sheet of
paper in soup bowl of
tea. She hangs it to
dry on a clothesline.
She dries it using a
blow dryer, which she
puts away. Amélie
turns off the lights and
as she walks by the
window she notices
Dufayel working on
his painting. She takes
out her monocular and
looks at him. She sees
the girl, which they
discussed, on the
painting. As she walks
away, Dufayel looks
up out of his window,
towards her. He takes
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
103
out his pair of
binoculars. He looks
at the piece paper
hanging from the
clothesline (seen
point-of-view, through
binocular vision).
101. Good deed: helping
Lucien 9
01:23:52 - 01:25:15 (83
seconds)
Sub: Avenging Lucien 6
Note: Twelfth scene without
Amélie
Apartment of
Collignon
Collignon
Collignon opens the
Saturated
door of his apartment
(standard color
(from the outside). He palette)
looks suspicious. He
sits down on his chair
and takes off his
shoes, after which he
tries to put on his
slippers. They hardly
fit. He breaths heavily.
He turns on the light
in his living and
carefully goes in. He
hears a buzzing noise
and looks at the
lamps, shakes his
head, rubs his eyes.
He notices one of the
lamps not being
plugged in, he laughs
briefly. As he plugs it
in sparks fly from it,
he screams from being
scared. He sits on a
chair, holds his
telephone in his hand,
picks it up and dials a
number (mama). He is
sweating and looks
nervous. “Psychiatric
Helpline” answers. He
looks even more
nervous, remove the
phone from his ear
and starts breathing
heavily. He shakes,
holds a glass and the
bottle of whiskey,
pours himself a drink.
He puts the whole
104
glass in his mouth,
then realizes it tastes
horrible (due to the
sugar). He violently
spits (sprays, rather) it
out onto the camera.
102. Amélie finds Nino’s
notes.
Metro station
Amélie,
pedestrians
Amélie walks the
Saturated
stairs of a metro
(standard color
station. She sees two
palette)
pieces of paper stuck
to the wall. They show
one of her pictures (of
the ones she put in
Nino’s photo album).
They say: “where and
when?”. Amélie
begins to take down
the papers, there are a
lot more. She runs to
get them all.
Costume shop,
street, photo booth
of Gare de L’est
Amélie, man
(photo booth
repair man)
[Voiceover narrator]
Collage of shots.
Amélie steps into a
costume shop. The
photo booth repair
man walks along a
street. Amélie arrives
at the photo booth of
Gare de L’est, she
spins the seat down.
The repair man’s car
stops in front of the
station. Amélie puts a
coin into the photo
booth, she is wearing
a cape. The man is
seen walking in the
station. Amélie is
wearing a Zorro
costume and takes
pictures. The man
walks up to the booth
(slow motion). Amélie
takes off her costume
and as she opens the
curtain of the booth
01:25:15 - 01:25:44 (29
seconds)
103. Amélie takes pictures for
Nino / meets the photo booth
repair man.
01:25:44 - 01:27:09 (85
seconds)
Saturated
(standard color
palette).
Photos: black and
white.
105
she sees the man.
Superimposed over
the man’s face are
pictures of him from
Nino’s photo album.
She looks at him from
head to toes. She
smiles. It fades to
white.
104. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 8
01:27:09 - 01:28:43 (94
seconds)
Apartment
building of
Amélie. Hallway.
Madeleine
Wallace’s room
Mail man,
Madeleine
Wallace
[Voiceover narrator]
The mail man is
delivering the post to
the residents of
Amélie’s apartment
building. Concierge
Madeleine Wallace
comes out of her
room, cleaning. The
mail gives her a letter
and leaves. She opens
it. It contains the letter
Amélie made, she
reads it (as well as an
enclosed letter stating
that this letter was
recently “recovered”
and usually delayed)
and walks into her
apartment. She sits on
the bed, reading. She
looks up, becomes
emotional, and moves
her head close to the
picture of her late
husband she has on
the wall. She kisses it,
but immediately
cleans it. She stays
emotional.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Apartment of
Dufayel
Lucien,
Raymond
Dufayel,
Amélie
Lucien enters
Dufayel’s apartment.
He is carrying a little
chair, as well as a
package (with his
mouth). Dufayel is
working on his
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Sub: Madeleine Wallace
receives it
Note: Voiceover narration by
Madeleine Wallace’s late
husband
Note: Thirteenth scene without
Amélie
105. Good deed: the letters of
Madeleine Wallace 9
01:28:43 - 01:32:21 (218
seconds)
Sub: Dufayel and Lucien talk
Video tape: desaturated
106
about it
106. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 5
01:32:21 - 01:32:55 (34
painting, Lucien puts
the chair next to a
lamp, stands on it. He
screws in a light bulb.
They talk about
Madeleine Wallace’s
letter. Lucien sits next
to Dufayel, he has
brought sketches of
fruit and vegetables.
Behind those is a
painting which
resembles the one
Dufayel is working
on. Dufayel gives
instructions. They talk
about stars and
Princess Diana.
Dufayel becomes
mad, he does not want
to talk about Diana.
Lucien leaves upset.
Dufayel looks at the
painting Lucien
brought in. He puts
another video tape in
his video camera.
There are images of
babies swimming.
Dufayel smiles at
seeing them. There is
a man with a wooden
leg on it, he tap
dances, the video goes
to static. Dufayel
looks out of his
window and sees
Amélie picking up a
cat from outside her
window. He walks up
to his window and
nods at her, Amélie
nods back.
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Garden. Living
Raphaël
Poulain, mail
man
Raphaël Poulain is
working in the garden
(or at least pretending
to), by his gate. The
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
107
seconds)
room.
mail man walks by
and gives him a letter.
He shakes his head
and opens it. It
contains a Polaroid of
his garden gnome on a
temple in Cambodia.
He puts the photo with
the others. He looks
around his room and
says “I don’t
understand” out loud.
Sub: Photos of the garden
gnome 3
Note: Fourteenth scene
without Amélie
107. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 6
Les Deux Moulins
Amélie,
Philomène
Amélie receives the
garden gnome back
from Philomène. They
talk about the
experience and the
fact that people now
call Philomène Snow
White. Amélie smiles.
Street,
supermarket,
metro station, train
station
Nino,
(security)
person
Nino is riding his
Saturated
motor bike. He is seen (standard color
posting more of the
palette)
“WHERE & WHEN?”
posters. He checks the
garbage for discarded
photos. A person
(presumably
security/police) walks
up to him. Nino is
seen on his motor bike
again. He puts up
more signs for Amélie
in a metro station.
Again on his motor
bike. He is now seen
searching for
discarded photos
under the photo booth
of a train station. He
finds a few.
Palace Video
Nino,
customers
Nino is sitting behind
the desk of the sex
shop. He is using
01:32:55 - 01:33:11 (16
seconds)
Sub: Amélie retrieves the
garden gnome
108. Nino does not realize
Amélie has found his notes
(banners) and puts up more.
01:33:11 - 01:34:02 (51
seconds)
Note: Fifteenth scene without
Amélie
109. Nino finds Amélie’s
picture
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:34:02 - 01:34:33 (31
108
seconds)
110. Georgette and Joseph are
unhappy 1
01:34:33 - 01:35:53 (80
seconds)
tweezers to put
together a photo (like
a puzzle). On it is
Amélie in Zorro
costume, holding a
sign saying to come to
Les Deux Moulins at
4 PM. Nino uses the
intercom to talk to
Eva, he asks if he can
leave early.
Les Deux Moulins,
others (images
accompanying
Amélie’s thoughts)
Amélie,
customers,
Joseph,
Suzanne,
Georgette
[Voiceover narrator]
Amélie is working in
Les Deux Moulins,
she looks at the clock.
It is past 4 PM. Joseph
is sitting in his regular
spot, looking at
Georgette. They do
not seem happy,
Suzanne asks about it
and Georgette
explains. Amélie
realizes Nino is late,
and makes up
explanations for it. A
(fast) collage of shots
begins: Nino did not
find Amélie’s photo,
he was taken hostage,
he has lost his
memory, he was
shipped to Istanbul, he
was being captive in
Afghanistan, he sits in
the hills. (the reasons
are accompanied by
shots of those
thoughts)
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie,
Georgette,
Nino, Gina,
young woman
Amélie is working
behind the bar. Nino
walks in. As he walks
by, she follows him
with her eyes. Gina
walks over to Nino,
asks him what he
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Nino is late
111. Amélie is afraid to talk to
Nino
01:35:53 - 01:38:45 (172
seconds)
Les Deux Moulins
Collage of shots:
black and white /
de-saturated.
109
Note: Amélie morphs into
water (CGI)
would like to order.
Amélie makes Nino’s
order and spies on him
via mirrors. A young
woman walks in, Nino
looks at her (thinking
it might be the girl he
is waiting for –
Amélie), but she sits
down at another table.
Gina brings him his
coffee, Amélie stands
behind him (behind a
window), she looks at
him. He turns around
and she quickly starts
writing a menu on the
window (to pretend
she is working). He
looks away and she
lets down her eyes (as
relief). Amélie
whispers to herself (in
thought) that he will
put down his spoon,
dips his finger in the
sugar, turn around
slowly. Nino turns
around again. Amélie
is still writing on the
window, Nino knocks
on the window and
she the photo of
Amélie in Zorro
costume to Amélie,
asks her if that is her.
He smiles, says it’s
her. Amélie quickly
raises her shoulders
and walks to the back
of the café. She talks
to Gina, writes
something on a piece
of paper, which Gina
slips into the pocket of
Nino. Joseph sees it,
nods. Nino looks at
his watch, Amélie and
110
Nino quickly look at
each other, and Nino
decides to leave.
Amélie slowly turns
around and morphs
into water.
112. Amélie as the girl in the
painting 4
Apartment of
Dufayel
Amélie,
Raymond
Dufayel
Amélie and Dufayel
are again discussing
the painting (and thus
Amélie’s life). Amélie
says the girl is in love,
Dufayel says she must
take a risk. Amélie
responds she will, she
just needs a strategy.
Dufayel says she’s
cowardly.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment. Living
room
Amélie, men
on television
Amélie is watching
television. On it is a
television show
depicting a man which
cites to a man behind
a typewriter. The man
discusses Dufayel’s
“meddling” in
Amélie’s life, which
they call intolerable.
Amélie nods. The man
says Amélie can live
the way she wants, she
has the right to mess
up her life. Amélie
looks down.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:38:45 - 01:39:28 (43
seconds)
113. Amélie resists Dufayel’s
help
01:39:28 - 01:39:54 (26
seconds)
114. Amélie is skipping stones
Outside
Amélie
Amélie stands by a
stream. She is
skipping stones.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Apartment of
Dufayel. Living
room
Lucien,
Dufayel
The image is seen
through a video
camera. On screen
appears Lucien, looks
directly into the
camera, asks what
Dufayel is doing.
Dufayel is shown
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:39:54 - 01:40:12 (18
seconds)
115. Dufayel asks Lucien
about the keys
01:40:12 - 01:40:39 (27
seconds)
TV: black and
white
Video image: desaturated
111
standing behind his
video camera, next to
him is a television
with Lucien’s image
on it. Dufayel asks
whether Lucien keeps
keys to all apartments
of his customers.
116. Amélie calls the photo
booth repair man
Gare de L’est
Amélie
Amélie is walking in
the train station
towards the photo
booth, closes the
curtain. She puts a
paperclip and a screw
nut. She is on the
phone, reporting the
broken photo booth.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Palace Video
Samantha,
Nino,
customer
A female employee
(Samantha) of Palace
Video is seen dancing
erotically. Nino is
helping a customer.
He looks at his watch,
walks towards a
window where he can
see her dancing and
knocks on the
window. She keeps
dancing and signals
Nino that she cannot
hear him. Nino takes
out a piece of paper
from his pocket and
writes a message for
Samantha on it. As he
holds it up against the
window for Samantha
to read, he sees that on
the backside of the
paper is a message
from (it’s the piece of
paper Gina put in his
pocket, which Amélie
wrote). It says to be at
the photo booth of
Gare de L’est at 5 PM.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:40:39 - 01:41:02 (23
seconds)
117. Nino sees the piece of
paper
01:41:02 - 01:42:02 (60
seconds)
112
He lowers the piece of
paper.
118. Nino meets the photo
booth repair man
01:42:02 - 01:44:10 (128
seconds)
Gare de L’est
Nino, Amélie, The clock in Gare de
photo booth
L’est shows 5 PM.
repair man
The photo booth
repair man sits in the
photo booth, taking
pictures, his iconic red
shoes show. Nino
looks at him and turns
around, looking for
Amélie. Amélie is
looking from behind a
window. The photo
booth repair man gets
up and Nino seems to
realize who he is.
Nino looks at the
shoes. In the photo
dispenser appears a
photo of the man.
Nino takes out the
photos, looks at them
carefully. He slides
the curtain, the man
says “Almost done”.
The camera starts to
spin and fades to
white. The man steps
out, Nino looks at
him, has a huge smile.
The man throws the
photos into the
garbage bin next to the
booth. Nino follows
him, still smiling. The
man quickly walks
away, slightly
spooked by Nino’s
appearance. Amélie
walks towards Nino,
determined. A cart full
of boxes blocks her.
Amélie turns around,
her eyes closed. When
she again turns
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Photo: desaturated
113
around, Nino is gone.
119. Georgette and Joseph are
unhappy 2
Les Deux Moulins
Suzanne,
Gina,
Georgette,
Nino
Georgette expressed
her sadness and
problems with Joseph
to Gina. Joseph talks
into his recorder, talks
about a conspiracy of
females. Gina
massages Georgette’s
shoulders. Joseph
looks viciously at
Georgette, Georgette
sighs and looks the
other way. Gina
brings a coffee to
Nino, who is sitting at
a table. He asks her
whether she has put
the piece of paper
(with note) in his
pocket. She responds
that she did, but that it
was not her message.
Joseph sees them
talking, smiles about it
again. Gina says to
Nino that he must
come back and that
they will talk about it
then. He agrees.
Joseph records on his
recorder: “docking
scheduled”,
suggesting the fact
that Nino and
Georgette and going
on a date.
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Kitchen.
Raphaël
Poulain
Amélie’s father is
Saturated
sitting in the garden.
(standard color
He is wearing a straw palette)
hat and is enjoying the
sun. The gate of the
garden screeches, he
gets up and turns
around to look. He
walks towards the gate
01:44:10 - 01:44:57 (47
seconds)
Note: Sixteenth scene without
Amélie
120. Good deed: inspiring her
father to travel 7
01:44:57 - 01:45:29 (32
seconds)
Sub: The garden gnome is
back
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
114
to close it, does so
firmly. He turns
around quickly and
sees that the garden
gnome has returned to
his original spot.
Note: Seventeenth scene
without Amélie
121. Georgette and Joseph are
unhappy 3
01:45:29 - 01:47:32 (123
seconds)
Amélie thinks Nino is together
with Gina 1
Les Deux Moulins
Georgette,
Suzanne,
Hipolito,
Joseph,
Amélie
Georgette and
Saturated
Suzanne are working
(standard color
behind the bar, Joseph palette)
and Hipolito are
talking with them.
Joseph is talking about
a man in a camel coat
and rewind his voice
recorder to show when
the man came in (as
he has noted each
time). Georgette yells
“stop it!”. She says
her rash has come
back and that Joseph
is driving her nuts.
Suzanne tells Joseph
to “lay off!”. Joseph
says it’s her own fault,
Georgette is
emotional, crying and
says she is going
home. Suzanne
becomes upset with
Joseph. Hipolito
responds to Joseph,
siding with Suzanne.
Joseph tells him to
stop talking and calls
him a failure. Hipolito
responds calmly,
explaining the concept
of failure, somewhat
poetically. Joseph
laughs and says he
thinks Hipolito stole
what he just said.
Hipolito responds (in
regard to the fact that
Joseph cannot hold on
to any relationship)
115
and they continue to
quarrel. Joseph pushes
Hipolito and they
almost begin to fight.
Suzanne intervenes.
Amélie walks in and
asks what is going on,
Suzanne explains.
Joseph says that Gina
is actually together
with the guy “with the
plastic bag” (referring
to Nino). Amélie
looks at him intensely.
Amélie looks at the
ground, confused and
slightly sad.
122. Gina examines whether
Nino is right for Amélie
Outside. Near
Sacré-Coeur
Gina, Nino
Gina and Nino are
walking. Gina says
she is concerned for
Amélie (in regard to
her possible
relationship with
Nino). Gina asks Nino
to finish sayings. They
walk down stairs.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Amélie’s
apartment
building. Hallway.
Amélie.
Madeleine
Wallace
Amélie enters her
apartment building.
Madeleine Wallace
comes out of her
apartment, anxious to
tell Amélie about her
letter. Amélie says she
does not believe in
miracles when asked,
she seems sad. She
runs up the stairs,
Madeleine Wallace
follows her and tells
her about the letter.
Amélie does not
listen. She walks into
her apartment,
Madeleine Wallace
can still be heard in
the background.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
01:47:32 - 01:48:16 (44
seconds)
123. Amélie thinks Nino is
together with Gina 2
01:48:16 - 01:48:52 (36
seconds)
116
Amélie rips down the
“where & when”
signs, which she has
stuck to her wall. She
is upset and looks in
the mirror.
124. Amélie still thinks about
Nino, imagines them together.
They meet and kiss due to
Collignon’s help.
01:48:52 - 01:54:30 (338
seconds)
Amélie’s
apartment.
Kitchen. Bedroom.
Apartment of
Dufayel
Amélie, Nino,
Lucien,
Collignon,
Dufayel,
Lucien
Amélie is backing a
cake, but has run out
of an ingredient she
needs. Superimposed
next to Amélie
appears Nino
(suggesting Amélie
thinks this), leaving
Amélie’s apartment
building in the rain.
He goes to Collignon
to buy what Amélie
needs. Lucien is in
charge, he order
Collignon to get what
Amélie needs. Nino is
walking up the stairs
of Amélie’s apartment
building. He walks in
her living room.
Amélie smiles. In the
superimposed picture
Amélie’s back is
visible. In the
superimposition, Nino
moves his hand
among the curtain
(made of beads). It
moves behind Amélie.
The superimposition
fades, Amélie looks
back to see her cat has
walked into the
kitchen. She begins to
cry, wipes her tears.
The doorbell rings,
she walks to the door.
She hears Nino saying
“Amélie?”. She
carefully walks up to
the door and puts her
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
TV: de-saturated
Camera: desaturated
117
ear to it, to listen.
Nino is seen doing the
same thing on the
other side of the door.
He keeps asking
“Amélie?” and finally
writes something on a
piece of paper and
slides it under the
door. It says: “I’ll be
back”. Amélie walks
to her window and
sees Nino crossing the
street, he looks up.
Amélie’s phone rings,
she hesitantly picks it
up. Dufayel is on the
other side, he tells her
to go into her
bedroom, which she
does. Her television is
positioned towards her
(with candles around
it), she kneels besides
it and pressed play.
The tape plays, it
shows Dufayel, who
talks to Amélie about
not letting this chance
pass. He draws a
parallel between his
skeleton (of “glass”)
and her heart if she
lets this chance go by.
He tells her to go get
him and the tape turns
to static. Amélie runs
to her window and
looks out it, but the
street is empty. She
runs to the door and
opens it (in order to go
outside), but finds
Nino standing behind
it. She almost bumps
into him. He begins to
speak, Amélie puts
her hand against his
118
mouth. She pulls him
inside and closes the
door behind them.
They look at each
other thoroughly.
Amélie slowly kisses
Nino on his cheek,
neck and eye. She
points to her lips and
Nino kiss her. Then
her neck, then her eye.
The silhouette of them
kissing is seen through
a binocular vision.
Dufayel was looking
at their window from
his apartment. He
realizes he can see the
same on his television
and catches Lucien
pointing the video
camera at the window,
which he quickly
stops.
125. The end: Everything is
well
01:54:30 - 01:57:19 (169
seconds)
Apartment of
Amélie, street,
garden. Dufayel’s
apartment.
Amélie’s
childhood home,
her father’s house.
Sacré-Coeur
Amélie, Nino,
Hipolito,
woman,
Dominique
Bretodeau,
Dominique
Bretodeau’s
grandson,
Raymond
Dufayel,
Raphaël
Poulain, Félix
Lerbier, nuns
[Voiceover narrator]
Collage sequence:
Amélie are lying in
bed, naked. Nino is
sleeping, Amélie is
wide awake hugging
him. Hipolito is
walking down a stairs,
outside. He sees a
sentence of his book
written on a wall (the
sentence Amélie
repeated earlier to the
train conductor). A
woman passes him, he
looks at her and jumps
over a little fence, he
seems happy.
Bretodeau is standing
in a garden, he is
preparing a chicken
and shares a piece
with his grandson.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
119
Raymond Dufayel is
seen working on his
painting. Amélie
father leaves his
house, he orders a taxi
to bring him to the
airport. A
marshmallow twister
is twisting, Félix
Lerbier is reading
about his brain on a
bench outside. At the
Sacré-Coeur nuns are
playing badminton.
Amélie rides with
Nino on his motor
bike through the
streets of Montmartre,
played as time lapse
(faster). They kiss and
smile, have fun. She
hugs him, they pass
the Sacré-Coeur. The
make faces into the
camera. She closes her
eyes while hugging.
126. End credits
-
01:57:19 - 01:58:05 (46
seconds)
127. Rolling credits
-
All main
characters in
photographs
-
A photo album flips, it
contains the end
credits. Lists the
actors and shows
pictures of them torn
and put back together.
Saturated
(standard color
palette)
Rolling credits
Black background,
yellow letters
Photos: desaturated, black
and white
01:58:05 - 02:01:35 (210
seconds)
Table 2: Complete scene list of Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain.
120
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124