Amelie - Essay
Narration
Amelie is partially told by an omniscient voice-over narrator and partially tells by itself. The voice-over narrator introduces a character or summarizes a length of time in the character's life that the film skips over. For example, the voice-over narrator introduces Amelie’s parents and other characters at the beginning of the film by relating some oddly humorous character traits. The voice-over narrator is also arranging the parts of the narrative. In other words, he is telling the story and letting Amelia’s voice come directly through - the film is told from Amelie's perspective.
However, most of the film is told through the dialogue between characters.
Narration other than words
Besides narrator, other factors such as camera motion and visual effects, helped reveal to us the conflicts that the characters were experiencing and their responses to their problems. The active camera motion such as tracking, zoom and panning throughout the film added the energetic mood to the film, and visual effects such as showing Amelie's orange beating heart when she sees her love, are much more engaging methods of informing the views of what's going on instead of just Amelie saying "I love him!".
Time
Time is manipulated in the film. The film begins with Amelie’s birth, summarizes briefly her childhood, than skips to her as a young adult, where the majority of the plot takes place. While it is presented in chronological order, the pace of the movie and the lengths of the jumps in time change. For instance, the film briefly summarizes Amelie's early childhood, describing her supposedly "weak" heart and her mother's death. Then, the story arrives at Amelie's early adulthood and becomes more detailed.
Mis-en-scene
Lighting techniques
Lighting was used to bring out the symbolism the color red carries in Amelie. For example, when Amelie is afraid that the man she is in love with does not feel the same as her so she retreats to her apartment, which
Amelie is partially told by an omniscient voice-over narrator and partially tells by itself. The voice-over narrator introduces a character or summarizes a length of time in the character's life that the film skips over. For example, the voice-over narrator introduces Amelie’s parents and other characters at the beginning of the film by relating some oddly humorous character traits. The voice-over narrator is also arranging the parts of the narrative. In other words, he is telling the story and letting Amelia’s voice come directly through - the film is told from Amelie's perspective.
However, most of the film is told through the dialogue between characters.
Narration other than words
Besides narrator, other factors such as camera motion and visual effects, helped reveal to us the conflicts that the characters were experiencing and their responses to their problems. The active camera motion such as tracking, zoom and panning throughout the film added the energetic mood to the film, and visual effects such as showing Amelie's orange beating heart when she sees her love, are much more engaging methods of informing the views of what's going on instead of just Amelie saying "I love him!".
Time
Time is manipulated in the film. The film begins with Amelie’s birth, summarizes briefly her childhood, than skips to her as a young adult, where the majority of the plot takes place. While it is presented in chronological order, the pace of the movie and the lengths of the jumps in time change. For instance, the film briefly summarizes Amelie's early childhood, describing her supposedly "weak" heart and her mother's death. Then, the story arrives at Amelie's early adulthood and becomes more detailed.
Mis-en-scene
Lighting techniques
Lighting was used to bring out the symbolism the color red carries in Amelie. For example, when Amelie is afraid that the man she is in love with does not feel the same as her so she retreats to her apartment, which