My friend Van received a package from home yesterday and amongst the various things inside was a the DVD of Amelie. We rushed back to her place to watch it.

I hadn't seen it since it was out in the theaters in the States. I caught it in a little art house theater around the corner from my girlfriend's place in Lafayette, CA.

There's so much that I love about this film, but I'll just share a few things with you.

The special effects are not ground breaking, but are really clever, things like Amelie melting after Nico comes to the 2 Windmills cafe. The one I really adore is when the 4 pictures of the same guy, the ones that Amelie wrote a note on and gave to Nico, start talking. This is both an incredible piece of film making and a bit of genius acting with the same actor doing four strands of seemless, simulataneous dialogue.

I love the artwork of the artist Michael Sowa that decorates the Amelie's bedroom perfectly embodies the light-hearted, playful spirit of the film. It's so rare to find this ideal inter-medium match. Do a search on the web for Michael Sowa. You won't be disappointed.

Then there's the great videos that Amelie sends to her housebound friend, Raymond Dufayel. They are so fanciful. I love the one with the horse jumping out in front of the Tour de France riders. It's might be the least interesting of all the clips, but it's timely with the Tour getting underway this weekend.

Of course, I'm fond (and envious) of the world trekking gnome. Wouldn't I be, though?

Probably the best thing about Amelie is that the film is so deep, so rich, so well made, that everytime you watch it, you can find something new and wonderful.