Take a good measure of the magic of Chocolat, toss in some playful chaos theory, add a bit of Ally McBeal fantasy and you have an idea of what Amelie is. Amelie is a delight. You smile as you watch and later you keep thinking of things that make you smile again.

Amelie Poulain is a young woman in Paris who has grown up isolated from the world. As she ventures out, she begins to learn the joys of giving to others and living with them.

When she discovers a small box filled with old toys hidden in a wall in her apartment, she decides she will try to find the person who as a child thought such things a treasure and return them to him. After that she begins to find ways of bringing bits of joy to others. She brings beautiful gifts into people's lives: telling a blind man all the things around him as she walks him across the street (giving sight to the blind), setting up two lonely people, finding a way to encourage her lonely father to travel.

She brings gifts, but she also brings retribution to those who deserve it. The green grocer treats his helper with disdain. She finds ways of setting up amazing pranks against him. Ah, but all this joy she's spreading, and what of Amelie? Will she find joy for herself or is just being a do-gooder enough? Will she be able to do something to bring herself happiness or will her shyness keep her always alone?

All of the characters in the story have quirks and frailties. They have likes and dislikes. They are all vulnerable on some level: blind, mentally challenged, brittle bones, prone to jealousy, shy and lonely. One character keeps a photo album made up of torn and discarded photos. There are many torn and discarded people. In many ways, we probably all have a sense of that.

But all the characters are able to do kind things. All are able to be loved. All are able to love. All have value and are precious in the sight of God. Amelie is a model of the graciousness of God. Her gifts are given anonymously. She gives out of the joy of giving, not as a reward. And because of the gifts she gives, others are encouraged to give themselves.
 
I heard a while back that Amelie caused a rash of doing good deeds in France when it showed there. That's not a bad thing. The Christian version of the Golden Rule is "Do to others as you would have them do to you." We often think that means to be nice. How good do you think that means we have to be? What would it be if we began to live as Amelie? What would it mean if we began to be so generous, just for the sake of doing something good?

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet is better known for much darker films (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children). In Amelie, he has given us a gift to make our lives and our world more beautiful. Such gifts can only be credited to grace.