The Blind Man Scene from Amélie

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The French film, La Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, was written by Jean-Pierre Jeunet in an attempt to make a more personal, emotional movie from what he had done in the past. In an interview he said, “Everything could be possible in Amélie - obviously I don't want to avoid fantasy and imagination - but I wanted to get emotion.” Essentially, he wanted his viewers to be able to connect with the character more easily and understand what the character felt. To help with this aspect, Jeunet purposefully set the time in which the film took place around the death of Princess Diana. By doing so, he prevented the film setting from seeming too old. Writer and director Jeunet was also influenced by the poet Jacques Prévert to create an image in his head of how he pictured the film to turn out. He loved adding details to every scene in possible.

Yann Tiersen, the writer of the song used in the scene, is a French musician who uses a variety of musical instruments to create the music he does. This particular song, La noyée, became a part of the soundtrack from the film, Amélie. Most of the songs from the film, which became well-known across the world, were merely made up of tracks he had previously made: La Valse des monstres, Rue des cascades, and Le Phare. Jean-Pierre Jeunet chose Yann Tiersen to put together a soundtrack perfect for his film. Many of the songs found in the soundtrack enhanced scenes in the film, like the particular scene described below.

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In the film, the protagonist Amélie Poulain decides to devote her life to making those near her happy after seeing the change that occurred in the man she returned an old box of memories to. Although, while doing so, she forgets about herself and is reminded so by the painter to go find her own happiness. The first theme Jean-Pierre Jeunet points out in the film is how you can help others find their true happiness but you must not neglect your own. In the scene called the Blind Man, we see how Jeunet works the theme into the film. It begins slowly as she realizes what she wants to do and a circular long shot is taken of her face and the way she reacts, as the narrator describes how she feels in the moment. By doing this, we tend to focus on her face despite the beautiful scenery around her in the shot. 

Though, when the scene reaches the streets and she sees her first mission, the shots move rapidly and shakily, absorbing all the sights around like how the blind man would have seen them. Having the scene shot this way made it seem like the viewers were the ones being carried around by Amélie. In this quick part of the scene, the colors still seem to somewhat blend together, although the colors pop out more, like the way they would to a man seeing the world for the first time. 

The second, more subtle theme Jeunet communicates throughout this film, especially in this scene in particular, is the importance of music to a film and the effects it can have on the reactions of the people watching. By having the song, “La noyée” play during this scene, the writer was able to stir up feelings of joy in the viewers, leaving smiles on their faces. The crescendo near the end of the song develops a fast-paced feeling of being rushed into something, but in a good way, the feeling of satisfaction one gets after doing something for the benefit of others.

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The scene begins on a slow pace, focusing on Amélie and her change in mood. It then picks up the pace when she finds someone in need of her newfound desire to help others and the scene moves rapidly as she assists the blind man in seeing the world. I love how immediately after her realization, the music picks up and the scene completely changes to fast, quick shots of everything around which the blind man could not see.

I find this scene from the film so beautiful because of the combinations of sounds used in the song. It begins on a gentle note, then becomes louder and faster as she assists the old man. The music by Yann Tiersen adds so much to this scene. In fact, it is almost as if the scene supports the music in portraying what is happening. Seeing the character in this scene and connecting the theme with it made me realize how relatable it was for me. For a while all I ever cared about was seeing other people happy and having my actions benefit others only, later realizing I could not forget about letting myself feel happy. By seeing Amélie experience the same feelings made the scene even more familiar and heart-warming.