You know you’re in the thick of another Milwaukee summer when Bastille Days rolls around. The ever-popular French festival returns for its 37th year July 12-15 at Cathedral Square Park, bringing with it all the wine, entertainment, and Storm the Bastille 5k run/walks Milwaukee has come to expect. But if you need just one more thing to get you in the mood, you’re in luck: On Wednesday, July 11 at 7 p.m., Bay View’s Avalon Theater will team up with the East Town Association to present a special screening of the delightful 2001 French film Amélie. Fun!
Good grief, has it really been 17 years since this movie came out? Yep! Nevertheless, is there a better way to kick off this year’s Bastille Days than by watching Audrey Tautou at her most Audrey Tautou-iest? Nope! Take it from Roger Ebert:
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “Amelie” is a delicious pastry of a movie, a lighthearted fantasy in which a winsome heroine overcomes a sad childhood and grows up to bring cheer to the needful and joy to herself. You see it, and later when you think about it, you smile. Audrey Tautou, a fresh-faced waif who looks like she knows a secret and can’t keep it, plays the title role, as a little girl who grows up starving for affection. Her father, a doctor, gives her no hugs or kisses and touches her only during checkups—which makes her heart beat so fast he thinks she is sickly. Her mother dies as the result of a successful suicide leap off the towers of Notre Dame, a statement which reveals less of the plot than you think it does.
Are all tickets only $5, and will the Avalon be serving up some delicious French menu items inspired by the film? You better believe it.