How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from the French-to-English translated subtitles of Amélie.
Quote #1
NARRATOR: At that moment, on a restaurant terrace nearby, the wind magically made two glasses dance unseen on a tablecloth.
This scene is allegedly something that amazed Jeunet in real life, so he recreated it for the movie.
Quote #2
NARRATOR: Instead, she cultivates a taste for small pleasures: dipping her hand into sacks of grain, cracking crème brulée with a teaspoon, and skipping stones at St. Martin's Canal.
Amélie lives a small life, but that doesn't mean it's boring. She is able to find pleasure in the smallest things, and she seeks them out.
Quote #3
NARRATOR: It's August 29th, in 48 hours, her life will change forever, but she doesn't know it yet.
Does anyone ever know the moment his or her life will change when it actually happens? Amélie will only realize it in retrospect, but part of the amazement of the movie is knowing it's going to happen before she does.
Quote #4
NARRATOR: Amélie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony. It's a perfect moment. Soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. She breathes deeply. Life is simple and clear. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind comes over her.
Here, Amélie finds a new simple pleasure—helping people. It really is simple, and it's amazing that more people don't do it, once you see how Amélie changes lives.
Quote #5
[Amélie helps the blind man. She shows him the details that no one else sees, things no one else would ever point out to him. The drum major's widow has worn his uniform since he died.]
AMÉLIE: A baby's watching a dog that's watching the chickens.
After Amélie gives the blind man a unique tour of the streets, he literally glows. We think this is Jeunet's way of showing how amazed the man is at being able to "see" the world around him in a way he never has before.
Quote #6
[When Amélie sees Nino, we see her heart beat inside her.]
In a similar special effect to the blind man glowing, we see Amélie's heart beat in her chest when she sees Nino. This is the moment when she subconsciously realizes that the two of them have a connection.
Quote #7
NARRATOR: What a strange destiny for one who gave her all yet took such joy in life's simple pleasures.
Here, we see Amélie starting to be amazed at how her own life is turning out. It's a strange destiny, but she's realizing that she might be able to take control of it.
Quote #8
NARRATOR: Since always. In your dreams.
When Nino realizes that it's a girl who returned his photo album, and a strange quirky girl at that, he believes that he might finally have found The One that he's always been looking for.
Quote #9
NARRATOR: The mystery man wasn't a ghost or a man scared of aging, but simply the repairman man—a normal technician doing his work.
Remember the blind man glowing? Here, Nino glows when the great mystery of the bald man's identity is unlocked. The amazing part is how not amazing his identity is: the man is just a normal person.
Quote #10
NARRATOR: September 28, 1997 at exactly 11 a.m. at the funfair, near the ghost train, the marshmallow twister is twisting, while in Villette Park, Félix Lerbier learns there are more links in his brain than atoms in the universe. At the Sacré Cœur, the Cardinals are practicing their backhands. The temperature is 24 degrees Celsius, humidity 70%, atmospheric pressure, 999 millibars.
These are the last lines of the movie, and they focus on some terribly mundane details. But the point here is to appreciate everything life has to offer. Everything is amazing in some way, if you know how to appreciate it.