On Film
My favorite movie of all time is Amélie.
This has not always been the case, though.
At six, for instance, it was The Chipmunk Adventure. If I could magically transport myself into a movie and live out the story, I would have instantly traded my whole future to ride in a hot air balloon in a race around the world. I wanted to see the Acropolis and the Pyramids and South American jungles teeming with snakes and smoky danger.
At thirteen Wayne’s World ruled the screen, as my girlfriend and I rewound the tape what felt like every Saturday night to laugh at Mike Myers and Dana Carvey poke satirical fun at grunge culture. We could quote that movie back and forth to each other during school days and forget how bored we were in class by laughing at the thought of asking our science teacher “a sphincter says what?”
At sixteen, I discovered the pleasures of horror and thrills when The Silence of the Lambs climbed to the top of my list. I briefly considered becoming an abnormal psychologist and an FBI agent because of that movie, until I realized that my love for puzzles didn’t trump my sensitivity and anxiety issues, which would not have fared well under either career choice.
At eighteen, I fell in love with the beautiful ruin that was American Beauty. At this age, life and art demanded I see them through more practiced eyes, and I appreciated the movie’s rich symbolism and biting humor while at the same time basking in its layered complexity.
At twenty, I went through an idealistic phase and Braveheart represented to me the ultimate struggle against oppression. All that was noble in mankind stood out starkly against man’s capability for evil, and I relished the moving portrayal of human struggle despite not understanding how my own could ever merit examination.
At twenty-five my love affair with Austen began, and Sense and Sensibility seduced me with its pastoral beauty and seamless capture of my favorite literary characters. I could escape into that movie and emerge feeling like I’d spent a weekend away at a country cottage with my dearest friends, something I desperately needed given my loneliness and stressed-filled existence.
By twenty-eight, I was learning basic skills for happiness and fulfillment, skills I’d somehow missed along the unpaved road to adulthood. Amélie became a way that I could see someone enacting positive changes despite fear and shyness. Not only did I relate to the main character on such an intimate level, the film itself displays a quirky artistry and a shamelessly decadent rendering of my favorite city. The characters are real, not fluffy Hollywood confections, and at this point in my life I crave authenticity above all. I can watch Amélie without the subtitles and it reveals itself to me like an opera.
Here I am. I can’t guarantee that this will remain my favorite movie even through the end of the year. Who knows where life will take me next…
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31 Comments
Janine Huldie
Wow, great movie choices indeed and I too loved Wayne’s World as a teen and definitely re-watched it time and again for all my favorite parts, too. thanks so much for linking up with us, too!! 🙂
Janine Huldie recently posted…Finish the Sentence Friday Blog Hop #22
Natalie the Singingfool
It’s classic!
clark
nice chronologicizing!* It does make for interesting reflection (the movies we are drawn to at different stages of life), not only for what they seem to (have) represented, but for how we (at that time) perceived the world around us.
neat
* not a real word
clark recently posted…Finish the Sentence Friday the Wakefield Doctrine goes to the damn movies! (yes, you know what scotts want to see! clarks? reluctantly go along…rogers begrudgingly concede)
Natalie the Singingfool
It’s a real word if you say it’s a real word, and then acknowledge that you made it up. 🙂
Karen
I love, love, love Amélie! My all time favorite movie is Harold and Maude though. I’ve probably seen it 20 times.
If you liked American Beauty, you should check out The Ice Storm. It’s similar in theme, but set in the early 1970’s – directed by Ang Lee.
Karen recently posted…One Step Closer to the Telling
Natalie the Singingfool
You know, I’ve never seen Harold & Maude – I need to check that one out!
I love Ang Lee, so I’ll have to see about the Ice Storm, too.
zoe
I havent seen Amelie in so long…What a beautiful movie…going to library today maybe I can find it!!
Natalie the Singingfool
Ooo, yes, it’s like a mini-trip to Paris!
Kristi Campbell
Schwiiiiing! Ah, Wayne’s World. Party on! 😀
Kristi Campbell recently posted…Sometimes, a movie says what I want to say. But better.
Natalie the Singingfool
SEE? So many quotable quotes!
Kate Hall
I’ve seen all these. Wait, I’m not sure if I saw the Chipmunk movie. And now I”m not sure if I saw Amelie, but I definitely saw all the others. I loved Wayne’s World. I loved watching it on SNL too. So funny!
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Natalie the Singingfool
Oh, Kate, The Chipmunk Adventure is THE BEST. Of course, I haven’t seen it in many, many years, so maybe take that with a grain of salt…
Jamie@SouthMainMuse
All good movies but I haven’t seen Amelie. I loved Wayne’s World but I was quite past 13 (not really sure how old I was). And my 80-year-old mum is hooked on Sense and Sensibility. I just found this out on her last visit. She has to watch it every now and then.
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Natalie the Singingfool
It just makes life better every now and then… 🙂
Larks
I’ve never seen Amelie and now I really want to. Ahhhhhh, Wayne’s World. The Bohemian Rhapsody scene is forever etched in my brain in all it’s awesome glory.
Larks recently posted…On judgment and slacker parents.
Natalie the Singingfool
If you see Amelie, it will make you want to go to Paris. And the Bohemian Rhapsody scene is how I learned ALL THE WORDS to that song.
Melissa@Home on Deranged
You just reminded me that Amelie has been on my list of movies to see for at four or five years now. I really need to get on that. It also reminds me that The Professional is one of my favorite movies. How are those related? I have no idea.
Melissa@Home on Deranged recently posted…Movie memories and the story of favorites
Natalie the Singingfool
Oh yes, must see Amelie! The Professional…hmm, never seen it…okay just checked IMBD & it looks like a movie I’d love, so onto my Netflix cue it goes!
Chris Plumb
Age 6: Comedy is not Pretty (Steve Martin TV special from 1980)
Age 8: Goonies
Age 10: Princess Bride
Age 12: Stand By Me/Better Off Dead
Age 14: Jurassic Park
Age 16: Shawshank Redemption
Age 18: Tommy Boy
Age 19: Rushmore
Age 20: Blood Simple (started taking Film as Lit)
Age 24: Saving Private Ryan
Age 30: Whatever Pixar movie my kids want to watch
Age 34: No longer have favorites…
(we boys have different lists don’t we).
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Natalie the Singingfool
Well, the Princess Bride was in my top five at one time…so was the Shawshank Redemption. I also enjoyed a lot of the movies on your list, too.
Kristi Campbell
Waiting for my pony.
Kristi Campbell recently posted…Sometimes, a movie says what I want to say. But better.
Natalie the Singingfool
Send me your mailing address…or a self-addressed, stamped envelope….
erin
Oh, Amelie! Love that film — like other commenters haven’t watched it in ages (may need to pop that in the ol’ DVR tonight).
Funny, I had a Mike Myers phase as well, So I Married an Axe-Murderer? Brilliant.
erin recently posted…Destination Unknown
mediumSuccess
Your choice of movies is so impressive that next on my to-watch list is going to be Amelie. Very nicely written post there. 🙂
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Natalie the Singingfool
Thank you! Enjoy it. 🙂
Jack
I was one of the snobs who loved Wayne’s World but hated that people thought Bohemian Rhapsody was written for the movie.
Casablanca is still my favorite flick.
Jack recently posted…When Blogging Became a Popularity Contest
Natalie the Singingfool
Casablanca has always held the number two spot for me. Maybe in that way, it is my true favorite – a constant throughout my life?
I never thought Bohemian Rhapsody was written for the movie, but the movie was my gateway for discovering Queen…
Brian Sorrell
You wrote: ” I can watch Amélie without the subtitles and it reveals itself to me like an opera.” YES!! Sometimes I watch it without just to let the French flow through me while I pick up a sentence or two. It is such a work of beauty, in ways that remind of “Like Water For Chocolate.”
My favorite Amelie line: “Times are hard for dreamers.” Rang true then, rings true now, always will. It’s what dreaming is all about, and brings me solace on dark days.
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Natalie the Singingfool
YES! I completely agree, and feel the same way about the movie. As a self-identified “dreamer,” I must say, no truer words have been spoken on the subject in recent history…
Ericamos
My techy, Greg, wanted to purge our lives of DVDs and replace them with BluRays. Amelie is one that I refuse to let go of until I have a replacement. It’s my happy place movie! And can you imagine how beautiful the colors would be in Blu Ray? I’ve yet to come across it in Best Buy, so I haven’t replaced it. I’ll probably order it online one of these days, but my current DVD comes in the cutest little peep hole box that I can’t bear to get rid of, so Greg’s just gonna have to deal with a DVD sitting on our shelves of BluRays.
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Natalie the Singingfool
Exactly – happy place movie! I have the one with the peep-hole, too. You have to keep it! It’s like an artifact.