When I work in a movie I'm tasked with creating its overall style and setting
I'm a production designer
My job is to assist the director in telling the story visually
In this series, we'll be looking at some of the best examples on how this work helps to shape a story
How much can a room tell you about someone?
Spoiler alert, it's a lot
Amélie was nominated for the Production Design Academy Award in 2002.
It won Aline Bonetto the BAFTA for her work in developing the world of the movie.
Audrey Tautou plays the part.
She's lonely but generous
Her days are spent with a borrowed cat, working at a cafe and shopping at Masuka
He's a nasty man, and so she sets out to get revenge
Here's how good Bonetto's work is: if you nodded off for half the movie and woke up just about here
All you need for the revenge to seem to work would be to open your eyes wide
Forget the plot and let the set and props do the talking
As soon as we walk in we find a tedious array of earth tones and an excess of old mossy greens
These are colors of tradition and stability that create a heavy lethargic mood
The house is kept tidy and clean, the materials are harsh and the lines are straight
Symmetry is everywhere. In the 42 size slippers carefully laid down next to each other
perpendicular to the couch, in the lamp, the frames, in those two pillows over there
the old-fashioned wallpaper and decorations convey a long-established home and habits.
This is the house of a lonely man
someone who finds comfort in routine structure and predictability.
You need this context so when Amélie does this:
They intuitively know the importance of her deed yes her actions are small
But because of the creative work of the production designer setting up the room in relation to the character
when Amélie tampers with his stuff, the severity of the punishment inflicted is plain to see.