L’agréable mirage de Montmartre, selon Amélie

If I had to pick any movie that neatly summarized what may be the romantic dream of Paris, that could be Amelie Poulain. Few movies have painted the city of romance in such warm tones as The fabulous destiny of Amélie Poulain’.

A few quotes that will get any French language learner moving to pick up more of the language..

Les temps sont durs pour les rêveurs.

– Times are hard for dreamers.

You certainly have to be a bit of a dreamer to appreciate the movie, so this quote comes as an ironic twist with subtle meaning. As visitors in Paris quickly realize, Montmartre is not quite the romantic idyll seen in the movie. But then, that’s the case for all romanticized versions of places and times.

Et de ratage en ratage, on s’habitue à ne jamais d’passer le stade du brouillon. La vie n’est que l’interminable répétition d’une représentation qui n’aura jamais lieu.

– Failure teaches us that life is but a draft, an endless rehearsal of a show that will never play.

Wisdom words like these are ever so welcome when said in French. A few words are joys in this sentence. Take ‘brouillon’ which mean draft and the part ‘répétition d’une représentation’ rhymes well (rehearsal of a performance).

It is no wonder that movies like this one have inspired and continue to inspire French learners all over the world.

Time and time again the movie appears, like an old friend with words of well-meaning for anyone wanting to .. “apprécier la mélodie de la langue française.” Paris may be painted with adjectives in novels and movies, but one fact remains, it does inspire people who want to learn French. Merci.