Eric+(Cinematography)

Eric Li Cinematography in Amelie

__Camera Movement and Time__ The majority of shots in Amelie contain some kind of camera movement, whether it be panning or tracking, and gives the film a very fluid feel. This fluidity ties in closely with the theme of fate, and the underlying premise that time is of the essence. The use of camera movement is exceptionally useful in portraying time, whether it be time passing by quickly or slowly. For example, a still, tripod shot of an unmoving door feels very “slow” in regards to minute-time, and therefore causes the viewer to feel anxious to see the door open. On the other hand, a tracking shot of a person walking creates a sense of time passing by quickly as the mis en scene is constantly changing with the exception of the character being in the frame. Amelie (movie) uses this to its advantage by having camera movement in many shots, especially corresponding, adjacent shots. While this is present throughout the entire movie, it varies in degree. The movie starts off with ample camera movement and lessens towards the end when Amelie finally realizes that she ought to tend to her own life rather than help others. The significance of this is that in scenes where Amelie helps others, the movement is fluid and continuous which in turn suggests that time is running out. However, when Amelie finally pursues her own desires, camera movement decreases in both rapidity and magnitude, indicating that time is no longer running out for Amelie finally has what she needed all along.

__Color and Emotion__ Amelie is a very warm and vibrant film, in regards to color. In one respect, this could be related again to time, in that the increased saturation is prominent of fast-paced plot as desaturated shots tend to correlate with slow, dragging shots. However, I think color is far more representative of the emotion in Amelie. On a grand scale, the warmth of the film reflects the whimsical, likable character and actions of Amelie. However I think the color palette is much deeper than that. Amelie puts a lot of emphasis on the colors red and green. Red and green, naturally, are opposing colors, and therefore are used in correspondence with each other to show the ups and downs of Amelie’s life. This however is merely my theory and even then, I would have to qualify that as I’m sure this is not true of every instance of red/green throughout the film. This theory aside, Red plays a much greater role than green, for it is more prominent and in more of the film. In fact, in almost every single shot there is red. Because red is largely attributed to love, the deliberate abundance of red in Amelie, I believe, is to convey the theme of love that turns out to be what Amelie needed all along.

__Framing and Expression__ Amelie is shot mainly in medium shots and close ups. This is because, as Amelie (character) is the focus of the film, it is imperative that her emotions be known to the audience. Therefore, close ups are used in shots which require the audience to know what Amelie is feeling in order for the plot to resonate with the audience. For example, in the beginning of the film when one of the crashed drivers blames Amelie wrongly, the camera pushes in to a close up of Amelie’s face, showing her annoyed and troubled expression. The next scene then shows Amelie getting revenge by sabotaging the man’s cable during a soccer game. In showing Amelie’s expression in a close up, the viewer is much more anticipant of the corresponding shot. Another similar example is when the grocer insults Lucien; the close up of Amelie’s face indicates feelings of contempt and foreshadows Amelie’s sabotaging of the grocers apartment.