The “cinéma du look” is described by David A Cook as “ youth oriented films with high production values and a flashy visual style (“le look”) that often involved inter-textual allusion, especially to the  mis-en-scène of French poetic realism (1934-40), and imagery borrowed from contemporary popular media.  These films often feature eclectic soundtracks that were a pastiche of classical and popular music.  Cinéma du look was inaugurated by Jean-Jacques Beineix (b.1946) with the frenetic film noir Diva (1981). (Cook 2004: 473).”  The key ‘femme fatale’ character in Diva, a black American opera singer named Cynthia Hawkins, serves as a nucleus of art, beauty and obsession within the Parisian set narrative, which Milne describes as a “Marvellous amalgam of sadistic thriller and fairytale romance, drawing on a wild diversity of genres from film noir to feuillade serial (Milne 2008:276).”  Twenty years on, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amélie (2001), set in a fantastically dissimilar Paris to that of Diva, follows the fortunes of the introvert, waiflike Amélie Poulain and her attempts to enrich the lives of those around her.  Hammond explains that “Jeunet brings the same mastery of detailed, allusive mis-en-scène, set design and colour composition to this love poem to la vie Parisienne.  Central to Jeunet’s vision is the anchoring performance of Tautou, through whose innocent eyes this carnival of earthly pleasures, places and people is seen (Hammond 2004: 27).”  We will investigate further the roles of the two female leads in terms of their function as a site of spectacle and visual pleasure within the texts.

The divine diva performs, immersed in a world of  blue,
a colour scheme that will run throughout the film.

            The opening scene of Diva is instrumental to the construction of the spectacle that is Cynthia Hawkins.  Beineix readies us for her appearance by giving us a glimpse of the world she inhabits.  His use of low angle camera presents the grandiose yet decaying auditorium as an awesomely overpowering stage, placing us within the world of opera before she has even sung a note.  As Axmaker explains “The opening concert is set not in a grand opera hall but a dilapidated theatre with crumbling walls and an open stage. "This was an opera crime film so we started with symbolic images of the opera, but in fact we're not at the opera," explains Beiniex. It's like a cross between an ancient amphitheater and a gutted relic of a concert hall, a kind of junk-chic (Axmaker 2009 - online text).”  Indeed, this ‘junk-chic’ seems to exaggerate the spectacle and visual pleasure of the Diva herself. 

Cynthia's world and influence extends far beyond the
empty shell of the opera house.  It permeates through
every scene and location within 'Diva'.

          Cynthia’s angelic appearance as she enters is augmented by the grimy doorway she steps through, and the medium close-up shows off her beauty and magnetism, which is further highlighted by the golden light in which she is bathed in.  Her perfect hair and makeup, sparkling earrings, glittering silvery blue dress and graceful demeanour demonstrate implicitly why Jules is so obsessed by her.  The short silence after the initial applause serves to heighten the anticipation for the spectacle we are about to witness; and then she sings.  Beineix cleverly tracks his camera in slow, circular movements which seem to drift with the music, all the while focusing our attention on the exquisite Diva, played to perfection by Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez.  Moreover, Beneix incorporates the same camera technique as Cynthia performs ‘Ave Maria’ on the piano in the hotel room, and at the films close, where she hears herself sing for the first time. It is as if he has dedicated this shooting style to his female lead specifically, and as Beineix cuts to a close-up of Jules, we begin to understand the intensity of his adoration for the Diva.  Ebert explains that “The camera sees this action in two ways. First, with camera movements that seem as lyrical as the operatic performance. Second, with almost surreptitious observations of the electronic eavesdropper at work. His face shows the intensity of a fanatic: He does not simply admire this woman, he adores her. There is a tear in his eye. The operatic performance takes on a greatness, in this scene, that is absolutely necessary if we're to share his passion. We do. And, doing so, we start to like this kid (Ebert 1982 - online text).” 

As a child, Amelie's dreamlike imagination creates an
ethereal world that extends into adulthood.

            Incongruously, the introduction of Amélie Poulain is far more tongue  in cheek.  Jeunet presents us with images of his female lead as a feisty sperm, followed by a speedily temporal sequence of events running through her early life, evoking nostalgia and an essence of innocence that will remain throughout the film.  Hammond  explains that “in the hectic comic overture of this sweet-hearted nostalgia fest, director Jeunet offers a colour saturated compendium of her likes and dislikes that leaves you breathless, amazed and laughing (Hammond 2004: 27).”   Unlike Diva, we are placed within a world where the mechanisms of routine banality are displayed with a child-like enthusiasm.  When we are eventually introduced to the adult (yet still child-like) Amélie, played perfectly by Audrey Tautou, the camera zooms from long shot into a close-up of her face, addressing the camera directly, a camera technique repeated throughout the film and as Beineix has done in Diva, Jeunet seems to have committed an individualistic style of camerawork to the character of  Amélie.  

The long zoom ends with a direct to camera stare as the adult Amelie
is introduced, initiating a unique relationship with the audience

Indeed,  this technique draws us involuntarily into the mindset of  Amélie, placing us deep within her majestic and animated world, ensuring our vision of the narrative is seen through her curious eyes, while outwardly her unquestionable natural beauty is played down by her dowdy, none-to-glitzy attire, and further underplayed by her stooped, reclusive shuffling movements as she ambles through the seamlessly constructed streets of a fantastical Paris.  As Mitchell explains “She (Amélie) has the innocent vitality of a silent-film star; with her helmet of gorgeous brunet hair, she is posed to suggest Louise Brooks from some angles. Mr. Jeunet directs his protagonist so that even when she is a child (played by Flora Guiet), each thought and impulse shines though her skin. (Ms. Tautou addresses the camera as if she were looking each viewer right in the eye; she has the cross-hairs focus of a movie star.)” (Mitchell 2001 - online text).

            So powerful is the opening scene of Diva that it stays with us throughout the film.  Axmaker explains that “Composer Vladimir Cosma creates an eclectic music score, from lyric arias to techno-rock to new wave pop, and he brought in Vietnamese musicians and Tibetan singers to add unusual and unexpected colours to the score. But it's all anchored by the beautiful aria from La Wally that opens and closes the film. The voice of Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez rings out clear and strong and, like the blue hues that infuse the imagery, casts an unusual audio backdrop to the crime thriller. (Axmaker 2009 - online text).”  In this context, the music and colour scheme throughout the film serve to remind us of the spectacle of Cynthia, even when she is not on screen.

Sets and props saturated in blue remind us of the
omniprescence of the Diva, and our protagonist's
infatuation with her.

         From the opening performance Beineix takes us into the Diva’s dressing room, where a line of fans await autographs and a meeting with their heroine in a fashion similar to that of a pilgrimage.  An extreme close-up of Cynthia further highlights her beauty, with her red earrings matching the red roses that lavish her dressing room.  Indeed, flowers serve to augment the spectacle of the Diva throughout the film, most obviously when Jules brings a large bouquet to her hotel room, which is already overflowing with petals and colour.  As Cynthia signs  light blue programmes with her picture on the front she sits before an imposing light blue poster of herself, images which will both be repeated during the movie.  She is told by a member of her entourage that “Darling you were very moving. The princess insists on seeing you.”  The glistening diamond ring she wears as Beineix gives us a close-up of her hands further heightens the sense of glamour that surrounds her character, and  Jules’ act of stealing her dress foregrounds his infatuation with the Diva. 

Washed away with blue

            Interestingly, Cynthia does not reappear directly for another half an hour into the film, although owing to the soundtrack, colour scheme and narrative, her character takes on a sense of omnipresence throughout.  The use of blue, similar in colour to the dress she wore and which Jules has stolen, can be seen literally everywhere; in every frame and on nearly every character.  As the barefooted Nadia runs helplessly through the train station she wears a light blue  overcoat before she is stabbed in the back, literally, which in itself is comparable to Jules’ metaphorical stabbing in the back of Cynthia by surreptitiously recording her music; an act she later refers to as rape.  We see the headline “Who stole the Diva’s dress” twice, we are transported though scenery drenched in blue, from the drab walls of the police station, to Gorodish's aquatically inspired apartment, to the blue painted sky of Jules’ garage walls as he is mesmerized by the music he has recorded.  Again, Beineix frames him using the same tracking style with which he captures Cynthia at the films opening, and repeats this technique as Gorodish lies in the bath listening to her aria.  Cleverly, through camera movement, Beineix manipulates his audience into visualising the Diva. 

Shades of blue throughout 'DIVA'

            All the police officers wear the same colour light blue shirts, as do Jules and his colleagues, and the statue of Beethoven which is discarded disdainfully by Le Cure also shares the same colour scheme, relating directly to the garment worn by and stolen from the Diva.  The dress itself ensures Cynthia’s presence is intact, with Jules wearing it as a scarf, draping it beneath the poster he has of his heroine and on the mannequin at the prostitute’s apartment, which itself is a miasma of blue.  Finally, when the prostitute steps into the dress, Jules‘ insatiable adulation for the Diva is fully realised.  Axmaker explains that  “Even the sunlight glows through the windows of Gorodosh's loft in cerulean hues, thanks to a layer of blue cellophane, an inexpensive alternative to more traditional, and expensive, gels (set designer Hilton McConnico recalls that they were purchased from a candy factory). (Axmaker 2009- online text).”  Indeed, so glaringly intense is the blue themed imagery that it appears the mendacious Jules is, at times, drowning in guilt, an idea strengthened when Cynthia’s manager explains that the “offers will come flooding in.”

            Key to the success of  Amélie is undoubtedly the central performance of Tautou, which at times is a visual tour de force.  Her face becomes a beacon of expression, a fact not lost on the actress herself.  “One of the many unique facets of the film is watching Tautou's visual expressiveness. With relatively minimal dialogue, the actress speaks with her face. It's an intricate, delicate performance, but Tautou refuses to embark on any analytical exercise. "To me, when I play a character, I try to feel the same kinds of feelings as the character, depending on her different situations. And so, those feelings come via my face (Femail.com - online text)." Yet unlike Cynthia, we the audience are the only ones focusing on Amélie as she goes about her mischievous schemes.  

Nino is unaware of  the smitten Amelie behind him, allowing the audience a greater sense of power within the narrative

Even Nino, the man she loves, fails to fully perceive her until the film’s close, and the other characters, with the exception of Raymond Dufayel (who spies on her a la Rear Window (1941)), and Gina , seem to take her for granted, including her own father.  Therefore, it is not surprising that Amélie’s mind wanders into a world of imagination and fantasy, and director Jeunet takes us along for the ride.  As Ebert explains  “The film is filled with great individual shots and ideas. One of the best comes when Amélie stands high on the terrace of Montmartre and wonders how many people in Paris are having orgasms at that exact instant, and we see them, 15 in all, in a quick montage of hilarious happiness (Ebert 2001 - online text).  We know this sequence is in Amélie’s imagination, and realise that part of the spectacle that is  Amélie Poulain is being on the inside looking out.  Indeed, the highly stylised streets and undergrounds of Paris, created through CGI, painstaking removal of advertisements and graffiti, and a colour  scheme saturated in green, yellow and red, which was inspired by the paintings of the Brazilian artist Juarez Machado, all serve to create a wonderful fairytale setting for the film that is clearly the mind, and therefore spectacle and visual pleasure, of Amélie Poulain.

The film, and Amelie herself, begin to morph into a whole
different universe.....

........ until the sybolism presents the broken hearted Amelie
as a mere puddle on the floor.

            Moreover, Jeunet’s use of unconventional effects further enchant us within Amélie’s dream world.  As Donadoni explains “His occasional forays into the fantastic — such as the moment when inanimate objects come alive to watch over this shy Cinderella like refugees from Euro Disney — only enhance Amélie's magical aura. (Donadoni 2001 - online text).  Indeed, Jeunet’s use of CGI when the broken hearted Amélie morphs into a pool of water, or when he shows us her glowing, beating heart, we realise much of the spectacle gained from her character is a fantastical and delightful confection of visual treats.

             The nearest the character of Cynthia comes to such capricious whimsy is when she and Jules walk the city streets and sit in the park, swathed in beautifully realised monochrome blue; a picture postcard Paris, where the delicate, sombre yet achingly poetic piano music enhances an elegiac lyricism of a new day dawning, and birds taking to the sky.  On returning to the hotel room, as Cynthia plays a few notes on the piano we realise the previous, nondiagetic music has now become diagetic; as if the omnipresent Diva has exerted her control over the film, and what we have just witnessed is an image of Paris, and for that matter Jules, hypnotised under her spell.

Blue is very much the colour of Jules' world as he strolls besides the woman of his dreams and infatuation.

            We have looked briefly at only a few of the countless facets that make both the characters of Cynthia Hawkins and Amélie Poulain so memorable, visually compelling and uniquely endearing.  Clearly, in the hands of directors  Beineix and Jeunet, the characters have been given unequivocal freedom to bloom, enthral and mesmerise their audience.  And although both characters appear at times fantastical and almost otherworldly, at others they seem incontrovertibly human and always empathetic.

Bibliography

Cook, David A. (2004), A History of Narrative Film, Forth Edition (New York, London: Norton).

Articles in collected Volumes

Milne, Tom (2008), ‘Diva’ , in Time Out Film Guide, Seventeenth Edition, ed. John Pym (London: Ebury) pp. 276           

Hammond, Wally (2008), ‘Amélie’ , in Time Out Film Guide, Seventeenth Edition, ed. John Pym (London: Ebury) pp. 27

Electronic media

Ebert, Roger (1982) Diva in The Chicago Times, January 1^st 1982 [online text]

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19820101/REVIEWS/201010318/1023

Axmaker, Sean (2009) in Turner Classic Movies [online text]

http://www.tcm.com/movienews/index/?cid=205792

Mitchell, Elvis (2001) ‘Little Miss Sunshine as Urban Sprite’ in The New York Times, November 2^nd 2001 [online text]

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/02/movies/02AMEL.html

 Donadoni, Serena (2001) ‘Amélie’ in The Cinema Girl, [online text]

http://thecinemagirl.com/reviews/a/amelie.htm

Femail.com 1997 - Audrey Tautou owes Success to her 'Amelie'

http://www.femail.com.au/audreytautou.htm

Ebert, Roger (2001) ‘Amélie’ in The Chicago Sun Times, November 9, 2001 [online text]

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20011109/REVIEWS/111090301/1023

Filmography

Hitchcock, Alfred (1941), Rear Window

Beineix, Jean-Jacques (1981), Diva

Jeunet, Jean Pierre (2001), Amélie (Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain).