Avenue Montaigne could just as easily have been entitled Amélie-lite.  It has a lot of the feel of Amélie: it is light-hearted, it centers on a somewhat innocent young woman working in a Parisian café; it brings together several stories; and it is a celebration of the joy of living.

The “lite” comes from the difference.  In Amélie, the young woman is the catalyst for others finding love and meaning.  In this film, Jessica, the new waitress at a café, is more of a vehicle for connecting the various stories.  She interacts with those who are involved in three upcoming projects, all happening in the neighborhood: a soap opera actress about to open in a play (but who longs for something bigger), a pianist preparing for a concert (but who feels suffocated by the strains of his life), and an art collector who is getting ready to sell all his collection.



Under it all is a search for a good life.  Where is it to be found?  The actress already has fame, but it’s not enough.  She keeps looking for even more.  Will a bigger role—a bigger audience—make it any better?  Can she move beyond fame to become truly creative?

The pianist is happiest going to a hospital to play for the patients.  He is tired of the traveling and the schedules.  His wife lives vicariously through his accomplishments; if he were to give it up, she would have nothing.  Can he find happiness in playing for the sake of the music?  Will he be able to share that happiness with his wife?

The art collector worked hard for his money and invested it in fine art to enjoy its beauty, but now that his wife has died, he no longer can truly enjoy it, so he’s ready to auction it off.  His son thinks it’s just to get money for his father’s young, gold-digging new wife.  He remembers how much his father loved buying art and can’t understand why he would let it go.  Can the father and son both find joy in letting go of such beauty?

And through it all flits Jessica, letting them all tell their stories and give voice to their needs and pains.  She too is trying to find happiness.  She has heard her grandmother tell of how she went to work as a housemaid at the Ritz to be close to the life of wealth—and it was enough.  Jessica, too, is living out the joy that is in her life through her work, as menial as it might seem.  But through her joy for life, she aids others in their searching so they—and she—can find happiness.

A good life—happiness—joy in living is something that we all desire.  We search for it in many ways.  At times we find it.  At times we lose it.  There is no one path to happiness, but the search is always easier when we have others with us on the journey.  Those whose lives are lived out on Avenue Montaigne discover that.