Almost 22 years ago, The Incredible Fate of Amelie Poulain was released, a Parisian romantic tale that has become a symbol of France's «cultural exclusivity», which, it would seem, will manage to maintain its timeless charm despite globalization.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet's painting did not win a single Oscar statuette, but gained millions of fans around the world, and Jan Tiersen's musical compositions are still performed in all public places where a piano is installed, for example, at train stations.
< p>In 2001, «Amelie» was the highest grossing film in France, but since then the «national treasure» has been regularly attacked. Some ill-wishers call the picture a «stylistic exercise» devoid of deep meaning, others point to countless aesthetic clichés and blame the author for turning Montmartre into Disneyland.
Nevertheless, even cynics, movie snobs and other fans of the «new wave» could not foresee such a plot twist.
In a short called «The True Story of Amélie Poulain», Jean-Pierre Jeunet admitted: Amélie is not the kind-hearted waitress at the Two Mills Café Brasserie that so many have come to love. In fact, she is a spy recruited by the KGB (forgive the author for this anachronism).
In the 6-minute video, the director presented the cult scenes of the film in a new light: it turned out that rubles were hidden in a bean bag, and under the sugar crust it was not just creme brulee, but a dessert with cyanide. The humorous exposure of Amelie once again proves that the film is created precisely at the editing table, and different shots can be rethought to create a new script.
After «Amelie» Jeunet made «The Long Engagement» (2004) and «a satire on the international arms trade» — «The Losers» (2009). Both films found their audience, but could not compare with the success of the first films «Delicatessen», «City of Lost Children» and, of course, «Amelie».
Its adaptation of the book by Raif Larsen «The Incredible Journey of Mr. (2013) was more critically acclaimed than audiences, and the director had difficulty finding funding for new projects.
After a hiatus of nearly a decade, Jeunet released the sci-fi comedy Big Bug last year on the Netflix streaming platform.
The new short reminded us of the place «Amelie» occupies in the career of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and, perhaps, sowed doubts in the fans and made them take a closer look at the character of Audrey Tautou and her strange smile.< /p>