Reviews: RottenTomatoes (90%), IMDB (8.5), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: NetFlix.

Similar movies: joyful, romance.

Summary: An adorable movie, one of my favorites.

Plot: A shy waitress spreads joy into others' lives with random, anonymous acts of kindness. Occasionally, she's mischievous too! She runs into a guy who is equally good hearted and equally quirky. Amelie is intrigued. She engages with the boy but maintains her distance, concealing her identity. At the same time, she keeps setting up elaborate trails peppered with clues leading him to her.

On the whole, the movie is artistic and joyful. Not a single dull moment. I chuckled so many times! Nominated for five oscars (didn't win any) - writing, art direction, cinematography, sound and best film. Character development, humor, storyline, dialogues and music are awesome. But above all, there is a touch of artistry that is unique to this movie that makes it special. For a brief moment, the nightlamp takes human form. Semetimes, characters in photos talk to each other. In one scene, Amélie turns into water! I sensed a touch of Miyazaki in these brief moments.

Amélie brought me much relief from the negative after effects of two movies by Bergman that I saw recently: Wild Strawberries (1957, Swedish) and The Seventh Seal (1957, Swedish). Both are awesome movies on old age and death. But Bergman's approach is depressing. Wild Strawberries haunted me for two weeks. I'm thankful to directors who make movies like Amélie to help us dispel ghosts created by Bergman's movies.