How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from the French-to-English translated subtitles of Amélie.
Quote #1
NARRATOR: Like all little girls she'd like to be touched by her daddy. He never touches her, except for a monthly checkup… The thrill of this rare contact makes her heart beat like a drum. As a result, he thinks she has a heart defect.
The distance between Amélie and her father is pretty much at the root of Amélie's personality. It's both cause and effect: Amélie's lonely because her father doesn't show affection, and when he does show affection, he thinks she's defective, so he ends up isolating her further.
Quote #2
NARRATOR: She lives quietly among her coworkers and regulars.
Amélie is the opposite of a party gal. We're told that she lives quietly among these people, and this is an understatement. Throughout the movie, we rarely see any of the people speak to each other at all.
Quote #3
NARRATOR: Amélie doesn't have a boyfriend. She tried once or twice, but the results were a letdown.
Of course, most boyfriends are a letdown (sorry, guys), but this is a little foreshadowing as to Amélie's relationship with Nino, which will not be a letdown.
Quote #4
NARRATOR: Time has changed nothing. Amélie still seeks solitude. She amuses herself with silly questions about the world below such as "how many couples are having an orgasm right now?"
Amélie has always had an active imagination, and it grows up a bit with her. At first, she was just having her imaginary friends, but now she's asking silly sexual questions as an adult. Hey, why not?
Quote #5
LANDLADY: The girl from the fifth floor. We don't see much of you.
This is such a small line, but it shows that Amélie probably spends a lot of time in her apartment when she's not a work. She's no social butterfly.
Quote #6
AMÉLIE: I'm nobody's little weasel.
The landlady is lonely because her husband, who called her his "little weasel," is dead. Amélie has never had anyone who felt that way about her, so she can't quite understand these feelings, though she would clearly like to.
Quote #7
BRETODEAU: All that's left of your childhood fits in a rusty little box.
Bretodeau has led a very lonely existence. He doesn't even know his own grandson. When Amélie returns his toys to him, it prompts him to seek out these connections that he's lost.
Quote #8
AMÉLIE: I had two heart attacks, an abortion, did crack while I was pregnant. Other than that, I'm fine.
Amélie's relationship with her father hasn't gotten any closer as she's grown older. We see here that she often says completely ridiculous things to get a rise out of him… but he doesn't even notice.
Quote #9
HIPOLITO: Failed writer. Failed life. I love the word 'fail.' Failure is human destiny. […] Failure teaches us that life is but a draft, a long rehearsal for a show that will never play.
Hipolito, the failed writer, is one of the lonely people at the café. For him, his loneliness has become a way of life. At least he has Suzanne at the café to share his troubles with. It's like a French version of Cheers.
Quote #10
[Amélie is baking bread, but is out of yeast. She fantasizes about Nino going to get some for her.]
Amélie may be a romantic, but she's also practical. Part of being by yourself means that you have to do everything for yourself. Here she realizes it would be nice to have a partner around to do little errands for her, not because she would make him, but because he loves her, and it's a sweet gesture. She gets really sad when she realizes this isn't the case, because she's made her own life a lonely one.