French films are, most of the time, masterpieces because French filmmakers are not hampered by the pseudo-industrial complex that plagues Hollywood.

I think the only reason you think so is because you watch only those French movies that receive some critical acclaim and manage to get there across the ocean. Good movies.

There is a number of crappy Hollywood-like films produced in France as well as in any country in Europe and Asia, you just probably never had a chance to watch those as the cinemas are full of American crap anyway, no need to import more :)

I agree with Michuk. The French film industry is certainly capable of making utter tripe, most of which goes no further than France.

Amelie, though, is an utterly gorgeous film. I saw it several years ago and was utterly captivated. The plot is pretty slight but this really doesn't matter because the characters are so well drawn and likeable.

BTW, if you liked Amelie, I very much recommend another flick with Mathieu Kassovitz (Amelia's "lover" who never got a proper shot in Jeunet's film) -- Self-made hero by Jacques Audiard. This is the movie which made Kassovitz one of my favorite European actors. And it's a totally brilliant comedy with some drama added in a very skillful way.

Ah, to be fair, this is one of my first reviews, see, so it was not very well written, and I was often given to hyperbolic, overly exaggerative statements like "all French films are masterpieces." I know now that that's not true. I do love Amelie a lot, though. I related to her quite a bit.

Thanks for the rec, michuk. I shall remember to add that to my queue!

As for the crap....well, yes. I supposed there is as much steaming piles of crappy film in every country as there are film worth the celluloid and/or digital copy in which they're contained. It's cool.