Jeunet's film, "Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie de Montmartre" takes the viewer along with Amelie on the ride of her life thus far, dipping and turning to the nostalgic strains of the French accordian.

"LE FABULEUX DESTIN D'AMELIE POULAIN":
AMELIE OF MONTMARTRE

A commentary by Helen Frances

A fly buzzes into a deserted, cobbled street in the quartier of Montmartre, Paris. At the same time, two wine glasses dance in the wind on a tablecloth, a sperm and an egg come together, and an old man erases from his address book the name of a friend who has just died. Nine months later Amelie is born.

Jeunet's film, "Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie de Montmartre" takes the viewer along with Amelie on the ride of her life thus far, dipping and turning to the nostalgic strains of the French accordian. As the carousel of life turns and the fly flies, so the film presents many views, sounds, colours, characters and clues to the eyes and ears of the viewer.

The eye of the fly seems a useful image from which to explore some of the clues and connections offered by the film. The fly has composite eyes which present many pictures to the brain. The film also presents a multiplicity of images and sounds which may be supplemented by the associations of the viewer. For instance a fly's eyes could be said to look like a raspberry.