Amelie: Stylistic Devices

The first stylistic device the Director of Amélie uses is color correction. Many of the scenes, and consequently many of the shots, have a distinct yellow feel to them. Either the room starts out as yellow (yellow walls, yellow curtains) or the characters wear yellow. In many scenes there will be that overwhelming presence of yellow. In outdoor shots such as this one, color correction becomes evident as even the yelowness of the sun is exagerated to give the whole film a unified, magical realistic feel. This feel of surrealness is intended to make us understand that although this is the real world, weird, magical tings are stil going to take place.

Furthering the director's intent on creating a surreal world, there is the blend of reality and CG graphics. The personification and physical manifestation of Amélie's imagination serves as our bridge to magical realism. We undestand that anything can happen in this film and that weirder,, yet comedic things will also take place, furthering our interest in the movie, beconing us to continue to watch.


Another way the director destroys our reality is by breaking the 4th wall. Several times throughout the film, characters will break out of the story and adress the audience directly. Here it is the comatose neighbor who wakes up for a second to confirm Amélie's suspicions on why she is asleep. Also, by waking up, we are pulled into Amélie's psyche as she thinks it is possible for the neighbor to just wake up and fall right back asleep. This possiblity of the impossible happening continues to reinforce the idea that this is a magical realism film. Every stylistic element in this scene is meant to enhance the magical feel to the story. The curtains are even yellow in the background, as is the headrest.

One way the director adds humor to the story is by exploiting Amélie's quirks. First, he gives her some oddness about her like collecting stones, or wondering bizarre things (how many people are having an orgasm at that moment). Then he proceeds to show us couples having orgasms. The uncomfortableness of watching characters have orgasms is enough to draw a chuckle or an embarassed and uneasy smile, but then he takes us back to a close up of Amélie as she tells us the exact number of people having an orgasm at that moment. I feel that the director is intentionally trying to break the conventions of film making by introducing "inappropriate" material and resenting it in a comic light. He uses comedy as a form of filmic satire.