Cinema de look is a term often defined as a movement in French cinema that began in the '80's in which films emphasized on imagery, color, and youth rather than placing an importance on narrative substance such as messages about social or political aspects. Since then, many movies have displayed this film making style beautifully. One such example is the 2001 romantic comedy, "Amelie." This witty film follows a shy and unique woman by the name Amelie Poulain from her childhood where she grew up not having contact with many people, to her life as an adult where she comes to find her own happiness through helping others all the while also trying to overcome her own isolation and fears of rejection in order to be with the man she desires. The great representation of colors throughout many of the scenes, metaphorical imagery, youth through Amelie's timidness, and romanticism in her relationship with Nico are the reasons why, "Amelie," is a wonderfully made cinema de look film.
One of the reasons why, "Amelie," is a great example of a cinema de look film is its beautiful display of color throughout the movie. It is clear that director Jean Pierre Jeunet focused a lot on the movie's visual effects through the unique use of colors. By creatively manipulating colors and using mainly warmer and saturated colors, especially reds and yellows, he was able to create many different effects throughout the movie. For example, many of the scenes of Paris are tinged with a hue of greenish-yellow. This adds a great touch of nostalgia and also helps us to see the world through Amelie's perspective, which is more dreamy and surreal. It helps to give an ordinary view of a city life. The use of red and green is also very prominent throughout the film. The color red is used to symbolize youth, vitality, and passion throughout the film. For example, in the opening scenes where we see a young Amelie eating raspberries off her finger and cherries hanging from her ear, red and green, are clearly the main colors we see.