The film centres around Amélie Poulain and her isolated childhood, including her mother's death at a young age which causes her father to devote himself to building a memorial garden. As an adult, Amélie works as a waitress and finds purpose in helping others. The opening credits introduce the cast and director, setting a nostalgic tone through its old-fashioned visuals and music. Scenes from Amélie's childhood are shown through a rapid series of clips, focusing on minor details to portray her character before the narrative examines her own life and a potential relationship.

1. Film
opening
presentation

2. Film context
The film centres around the life of Amélie Poulain, a girl who
grows up isolated from other children. Amélie’s mother dies
in a freak accident when she is young. This causes Amelie’s
father to devote his life to building a shrine in the garden in
her memory. Amélie develops an unusually active
imagination and when she grows up, she becomes a waitress
in a small café where she decides to spend her life helping
others. After a series of adventures involving eccentric
characters, Amélie is forced to examine her own life .
Finally, she is able to overcome her shyness and begins a
relationship with a young man called Nino.

3. The opening credits introduce the
main actors/actresses and director. Yellow is the colour of ___ and is a
People may recognise these people reoccurring colour to the film
thus encouraging them to watch the
film.
The typeface is old
fashioned looking
which immediately
sets the era the film
was set

4. Soundtrack – Bluebottle - irrelevant to the
accompanying viewer but makes the audience
music is old question why the director has
fashioned included this scene – there is
French music always a purpose.
The opening shot is a
sentimental nostalgic
view of a Paris The mise en scene helps
street, almost like an old set the time and place
painting which sets the e.g. old fashioned car
mood of the film and old buildings

5. Narrator suggests
incidental things
like the glasses on
the table, the fly, -
every day life –
thing people
wouldn‟t
necessarily notice
but this is already
suggesting
something about
the overall
storyline of the
film
Voice over suggests a narrative and an
overall spoken storyline to the film, as if
its going to tell a story of someone‟s life

6. The voice over
is talking about
life and death
and how it is
cycle that
happens at the
same moment
Shows the fast
pace moment of
the birth of
“Amelie” – see
conception

7. Flicker is
reminiscent of a
super eight
camera – old
school movie
camera – serves
to emphasize the
nostalgic retro
feel
Handheld camera –
Telling story of as if its an amateur
girl‟s childhood film maker – family
through quick video clips
pace clips of
childish things.

8. Red and Green are
the significant
colours used in the
majority of the
shots in the film.
Red has Green has
connotations of: connotations of :
-Love -Envy
-Anger -Wealth
-Death -Jealousy
-Warning -Nature
-Blood -Hope
-Danger -Life
-Passion -Safety
It is obvious that the director has purposely used these colours
in order to convey a message or suggest a mood. He could be
hinting at the storyline and how its key themes seem to focus
on love, envy, life and safety. On the other hand he could just
be using them as they are complementary colours and enhance
the overall lighting and effects.

9. Child-like labelling of the character-
focus of minor detail like the beginning
of the film – things that aren‟t
necessarily always noticed by everyday
people are being pointed out
Long shot slowly zooms into a close up shot –
introducing key characters – Amelie‟s father.

10. The narrator goes through each characters likes and
dislikes – a unique method used by the director to
prepare a representation of each character – will help
the audience understand events happening later on in
the film.
Although the use of „likes and dislikes‟ is effective and helps
to portray each character in their own way – the things that
are said are unusual, not things people would often think of
and adds to the sense that the family is quite unstable as they
are all pleased or agitated over strange minute things.

11. Questions the audience could ask
•What is the significance of the girl?
•Why are the colours red and green used so often?
•Why is the opening based primarily around the
childhood of the girl?
•Why has the director focused on minor irrelevent
details throughout the film opening?