Amelie

This whimsical French comedy about the ramifications of clandestine good deeds and the courage to follow one’s own heart is also a celebration of the boundless potential of cinema itself. Following the death of Princess Di, a Parisian waitress (Audrey Tautou as a waifish Audrey Hepburn) finds a box of childhood treasures hidden in the wall of her apartment and covertly returns them to their owner (Mautrice Benichou). The emotional payoff of that experience inspires her to bring some joy into the lives of other people around her. Her subsequent orchestration of friends and strangers produces rather mixed results as she becomes matchmaker, dream weaver and sweet avenger, and is challenged to quit hiding behind a cloak of anonymity when romantically smitten by a young man (Mathieu Kassovitz) with an odd obsession. Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) directed this playful, visually enthralling delight.