Amélie and Philosophy, 4

Note: This post will contain more plot spoilers (than usual) and in fact re-tells the end of the movie. It’s necessary I think to understand the theme of this movie—and its value to viewers. Given the movie’s popularity, however, I am assuming of course that it’s not a “spoiler” for almost everyone that will read this. If it's not, or if you don't care, read on.

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Amélie chooses to face reality, to work on fixing her own life, and to find the courage to talk to Nino. And she, as usual, has decided upon a stratagem.

There is a mystery behind one of Nino's projects, which she has solved, and her plan is to share the secret with him. She will, in effect, create an event that lets him discover it for himself and then meet him immediately after.

As she walks towards Nino, she pauses and turns her back--but for the briefest of moments. He has not yet seen her. Having regained composure, she turns around--but, alas, he's not there! He has left.

Later on, Amélie has retreated into her make-believe world once again. She is in her kitchen, imagining that Nino is coming to meet her, as (in this fantasy) he usually does. It’s a beautiful scene; exactly the life that she wants.

A curtain of beads behind her moves, and she looks back as if the fantasy has become a reality (without her having to do anything). But Nino is not there—there is a cat.

The reality of her situation becomes clear. And Amélie starts crying.


But then, the door rings. And it’s Nino. She can hear his voice! Her lover, the one whose absence has just brought her to tears, is directly behind the door! And yet she can not answer it, can not answer him.

He writes her a note, saying he will come back. She goes to the window and sees him walking away.

The phone rings. Dufayel, her neighbor is there. He tells Amélie to go into the bedroom and then hangs up. There, candles have been lit all around. She presses play on the DVD (or VCR) and Dufayel appears.

“My little Amélie,” he says, “you don’t have bones made of glass. You can take life’s knocks. [But] if you let this chance go, in time, it will be your heart which will become as dry and brittle as my skeleton. So, go get him, for Pete’s sake!”

This message, like Dufayel’s earlier questions, allow Amélie to clearly see what is holding her back—a lack of courage—and what will be the result if she doesn’t pursue her dreams. She decides, there and then, to not let this moment slip by.

She runs to the door, opens it quickly, and begins to dash out—only, there, in the frame, is Nino himself! She pauses, looking him in the eyes. Pulls him in. Shuts the door. Kisses him gently. And then asks, though not with words, for him to do the same.


Finally, at movie’s end, we see Nino sleeping in the arms of a perfectly happy Amélie. She chose to face reality, and it was good. She found the courage to pursue what she loved, and in doing so earned the moment we see.

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Do you dare read more? If so, click here for the next post in the "Amelie and Philosophy" series.

Amélie and Philosophy, 3

The reason Amélie has such a hard time approaching Nino is not just that Amélie "doesn't relate to other people" and "was always a lonely child"--though that is part of it.

At the beginning of the movie, we learn a deeper reason: "Deprived of playmates, slung between a neurotic and an iceberg, Amelie retreats into her imagination."

She has, since childhood, sought not only solitude but solitude in an imaginary world. As far as other people in particular go, she "would rather imagine herself relating to an absent person than build relationships with those around her." The reason is that it is only in her private, make-believe world that Amélie feels completely at home, and perfectly safe.

To approach Nino directly, to see if they are compatible--this, a narrator explains, would be a reality-check. "The last thing Amélie wants." To pursue a relationship with him would demand that she place primary emphasis on her own life rather than fixing the lives of others. And it would also require of Amélie a virtue she presently lacks: courage.

As the movie nears its intellectual (and actual) climax, we see each of these issues come to the forefront.
Amélie is watching a foreign film on TV, with the subtitles supplied by her imagination (which here, allows us to see inside her mind at a crucial moment).

Dufayel, her house-bound neighbor, has previously pointed out Amélie's own messy life, and asked her who will fix that (while she's out working on the lives of others)--then, right before this scene, he points out that she doesn't approach the man she loves because she is in fact a coward.

On the TV screen, a guy "says" that "Dufayel's attempts to meddle are intolerable!" This gets a nod of agreement from Amélie. But then he goes on: "If Amelie chooses to live in a dream...and remain an introverted young woman...she has an absolute right to mess up her own life!" And to this, Amélie's eyes close, and her head lowers slightly in thought.

At this moment, Amélie has to weigh a handful of profoundly philosophical issues: to deal with reality, as it is, or to attempt to evade it; to place primary emphasis on her own life, or on the lives of others; to have the courage to pursue a relationship with the person she loves, despite being extremely shy, or to remain a coward--and a lonely one at that.

The choice Amélie makes will determine the course of her life--and of the film. Which choice will she make? Read on.