Amelie+-+Connections

This is a page that I am creating to help you out with your 'connections' log entry, but can also be used in the general study of the film. I have decided that we will not solely be looking at 'connections' this week, as many people in the class are //not// doing Amelie for their fourth log entry.

Amelie is, simply put, a very //different// film. It is full of introverts and social outcasts, and doesn't really follow the traditional cinematic conventions of Hollywood. Because of this, it could be quite difficult to find //similarities//; with that in mind, why not find some //differences//?

For many of us, our chosen theme is "It is important to see things as they really are" (which is, in effect, 'expectations vs reality'). If we look at the subheadings in the exemplar, one is "are expectations too negative compared to reality?" Amelie contrasts perfectly with war poetry in this regard, as 'reality' - often harsh and unforgiving - is played with, looked down upon with contempt and turned into a comedic fantasy. Need proof? The death of Amelie's mother. Try finding similarities with that and the descriptions of Owen and Sassoon!

If our theme is 'innocence', there are also several things we can look at. One of them is the importance of childhood; Bretodeau (not to be confused with Bre//dot//eau) laments his lost years since childhood, and it is only the re-discovery of his childhood toys that leads to a fulfilling life. What about Amelie and Nino? They are two people who had reasonably unhappy childhoods, and they have turned into social outcasts who are not particularly fulfilled themselves (until they meet each other). Although Amelie is a woman, she is child-like in many ways - skimming stones, the naivety to think she can improve people's lives through far-out schemes - etc.

Do **not** just use the sub-headings in the exemplar blindly as they probably will not suit you perfectly; in fact, I would only use one at the most. You need to be thinking about which headings you could use. Remember, theme does not have to relate to every one of them! You could talk about:


 * Knowledge, and the acquiring of knowledge
 * Structure
 * Language Features
 * Purpose and Audience
 * Experience

Hopefully, this helps a little.