One of our favourite films is Amelie, a love story set in Paris, and today we set about trying to find some of the locations of the film.
Coffee, Religion and the Republic
Much of what we wanted to see was in the Montmartre area so we headed out there on another bright, but autumnal day. First stop was Sacré-Cœur which I would like to declare as the most beautiful church I have seen. It is so well proportioned – just perfect. In the film Amelie goes there to return a photo album to Nino Quincampoix but cannot bring herself to do that directly so leads him on a trail up and down the steps while she watches from the telescope at the top. We did the same, only without the photo album!
The steps at the bottom of Sacré-Cœur had been defaced with slogans by yesterday’s demonstrators including one which said “Vive La Commune” A friendly guide explained to me the historical significance of the slogan. La Commune was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris in 1871. Much of the city today has been defaced with graffiti and slogans and is going to take some time and money to remove.
Next up was the Café des Deux Moulins which in the film is where Amelie works. Inside still very much looks like it did in the film but it was interesting to note that the tabac Gina works from had been added and the entrance changed. A wise man once told me never to visit a restaurant/cafe that is better known for something other than its food but, in this case, I can report that they did a very good coffee and tea.
Recreating the look of Amelie
If you have seen the film you will know that it has a very particular style leaning heavily on reds and greens with hardly any blues at all. It gives the films a very distinct feel and adds to the overall package. I wanted to see if I could recreate some of this look in my photos while I was here. If you check out the photos below you will see that I have failed to get anything like the style of the film but the blues do really pop which is somewhat ironic given what I was aiming for!
Where the streets have no name, but they do have a date
As we pounded the streets of Paris I began to notice dates stamped into the pavement and sometimes a series of letters to go with that.
It turns out that the City of Paris enforces a guarantee period on road and pavement repairs (apparently one to three years is not uncommon). If the path begins to crack, sink, or crumble during this period city inspectors use the stamped date and contractor code to identify who performed the work and hold them responsible for repairing it at their own expense.
Sounds like a brilliant idea to me.
