What's in a Nom?

The full French title for Amélie is Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, which means The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain. For some reason, the English DVD subtitles translate the title as Amélie from Montmartre. Um, yawn.

The French title conjures up the magic of the movie much more effectively than either English translations do. Even if the film is about finding romance in the mundane, it's also about just how fabulous Amélie's life is. And it's fabulous not because she lives in a mega mansion or fights supervillains, but because she's doing good deeds for others.