There is something about the film Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain that has always captured my attention. The cinematography is beautiful, the depiction of Paris incredibly charming, and the complexity of the main character (Amélie) intriguing. Every time I watch it or listen to the soundtrack, I have feelings of nostalgia. It reminds me of all the times I watched it with my mom and my sister who are both francophiles. When we watched this movie together, we shared the same desire to visit Paris again. Fortunately, I was given the chance during my studies here in France to visit Paris for my fourth time. For the first time, I visited places in Montmartre where Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain had been filmed. Here, I was able to place myself in Amélie’s position. My friend and I hiked up some small hills to get there and when we arrived in Amélie’s neighborhood, I started to feel those same feelings of nostalgia that I felt while watching the film. I found myself eating a lovely dinner of steak frites and listening to some live music in the café where Amélie worked (Café des deux Moulins), stopping by the outside of her apartment, and visiting the market where she shopped. I even was able to find a gnome (like the one from the movie) hidden under one of the shelves of produce at the market. Everything matched what I saw in the movie. I felt like I had teleported into the movie itself. As cliché as this may sound, it all felt like such a dream.
