Thursday, July 14, 2011

From Amelie to Pushing Daisies

I have just watched Amelie, one of the movies on my must-watch list. I cannot believe that I allowed myself to let 10 years pass before watching it (it was released on 2001). It’s definitely one of the best films that I have seen.

I have been hearing about the movie for a long time, but I never really knew what it was all about. All the while I thought it was about a girl with psychic powers because I kept seeing photos of Amelie holding a spoon. I thought she was a spoon bender. Silly me! It turned out that the image is from a scene where Amelie is described as one who likes to crack the top of a crème brulee (leche flan) using a teaspoon.

Audrey Tautou as Amelie
Amelie is a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. It is about a girl who found love in an unusual way. Audrey Tautou plays the title role. I won’t be reviewing the film here since there are already too many movie reviews online.

This movie reminded me very much of one of my favorite TV series—Pushing Daisies.  Both have quirky characters. The use of color in scenes is also evident in both. The most noticeable similarities, perhaps, are the use of flashbacks and the way the narrators describe each character. When I did my research, I found out that Amelie is actually the favorite movie of Brian Fuller, the director of Pushing Daisies. That explains a lot!

Pushing Daisies is no longer on air. It ended after two seasons, and only 22 episodes were shown. First it was affected by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Then, it got canceled for poor ratings. This really made me sad because it is the only show I look forward to watching then. You can read about my take on this show after the jump. I wrote it almost exactly three years ago on my old blog. Hmm… reblogging seems like a good idea. He he

Recommended TV Show: Pushing Daisies (edited)
July 11, 2008

While everyone’s going gaga over Gossip Girl, I am addicted to Pushing Daisies. It’s about a pie maker named Ned, who, at a young age, discovered that he has the power to bring the dead back to life. However, there’s a catch. He has to touch the person he made undead before a minute passes so that person can be “redead.” Otherwise, the nearest living creature will die.

His power is not limited to humans. He can also bring “dead” fruits to life, which he uses for the pies he bakes at The Pie Hole. In exchange of these fruits, the daisies in his kitchen wither. Thus, the title “Pushing Daisies” (I suppose).

When a police detective discovers Ned’s power, he asks Ned to solve murders by bringing the victims back to life and asking them for information that can help in the investigation. Then, they share the reward money. The first case they worked on is that of a girl murdered on a ship, which happened to be Ned’s first kiss and first love, Chuck. Ned brought Chuck to life but refused to touch her again, so the funeral home owner, who was somewhere near, dies while Chuck lives. This is the start of a strange and funny story of two persons in love but cannot kiss or even hold each other. They can, however, touch indirectly (as long as something is in between them, like when they kissed with clear plastic between their lips.)

Chuck and Ned kissing...
Aside from the comedic aspects, what I like about the show is the part when they try to figure out who killed who. It’s like live action Detective Conan!

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Spoiler (for those who haven’t seen an episode): When he was young, Ned accidentally killed his mother when he brought a dead fly back to life by touching it and was not able to touch it again. Her mother was revived when he touched her again. This, in turn, caused the death of Chuck’s father, who was just across the street. However, her mother died again when she kissed him goodnight.

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