The color blue is used symbolically in the visual design of Amelie to represent happiness. Watching Amelie to gather info on the visual design of the film lends itself to the realization that to write a paper on the overall visual design of the film would take dozens of viewings and a book worth of analysis. With that in mind, the focus of this analysis is on a repeated visual design theme: the timely, strategic, and meaningful placement of blue lighting and blue objects to augment and represent the themes of the story, specifically, the theme of happiness.

The main set colors in Amelie are green red and yellow. Volumes could be written about the set design, color, and decoration, and how it illustrates each character's personality, but as stated earlier the focus is the importance of the use of the color blue in the set, the props, character's clothing, and lighting. Compared to the reds and greens blue is relatively rare, but very easily noticeable throughout the movie. While it is possible that blue objects coincidently appear at important times, and rarely anywhere else, knowing Jean-Pierre Jeunet's reputation as a highly visual (see The Ci

ty of Lost Children), fastidious (this was the first movie Jean-Pierre Jeunet shot on location and, due to the lack of control, it will likely be the last), and preparatory (shots, angles, lenses, and camera movements were decided days in advance on storyboards) director, the chance of coincidence becomes slim.

The color blue represents the main characters' - Amelie and Nico - search for happiness and the things that make them happy. When Amelie sees Nico after spending the night in a photo booth and we see Amelie's feelings for Nico, there is a large blue backlit poster on the wall behind him. When Nico runs off to chase after his mystery man, Amelie runs after him and the audience sees that Nico is carrying a blue bag, giving the impression that Amelie is also chasing the blue bag. When Amelie goes to the only place she can associate with Nico, his place of employment, The Porno Video Palace, we see that the shop has many bright blue lights. Earlier in the film Amelie is shown unfulfilled with a lover and the narrator speaks of all of Amelie's past relationships as disappointments. Because it is a sex shop, one could draw the conclusion that the film connects sex and happiness, but taking into consideration the culturally different views of sex in France (where the film was made) and the United States (where the author is), the vibrantly blue sex shop is more likely a representation of a level of compatibility between Amelie and Nico that Amelie had never experienced. With Amelie's indifferent feelings toward sex in the past, the juxtaposition of the color blue and the sex shop suggests Nico is the one for her. The color blue is shown on screen with Amelie when something has made her happy. When looking at the posters Nico hung up all over town, the posters seen from Amelie's point of view are several different colors except blue, but then the camera shows Amelie and in the frame with her is a blue poster. Several times throughout the movie a blue object or blue lighting (not a filter) appears in the frame with Amelie at a key moment. Like when she is doing something that makes her happy, notice the blue glass in

Some common words found in the essay are:
Nico Amelie, Watching Amelie, Bretodeau Amelie, Amelie Nico, Georgette Amelie, Nico Follow, Video Palace, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, color blue, Amelie's Spectrum, Amelie's Nico's, visual design, bright blue, amelie nico, blue arrows, tells amelie, woman blue, sex shop, blue object, blue bag, color blue represents, throughout movie blue, blue sex shop, photos photo booths, visual design film,
Approximate Word count = 1445
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)