With “Am‚lie,” Jean-Pierre Jeunet proves once again that he will not be associated with a specific genre; in fact, there is no apt genre for “Am‚lie.” Some may call it a comedy, some may call it a fantasy-romance, but it is a captivating and engaging story about discovering a place in the world.

The film was co-written and directed by Jeunet; this is his ninth film (his fourth feature length and second solo effort). Others include “Delicatessen,” “The City of Lost Children” and “Alien: Resurrection.”

“Am‚lie” (in French with English subtitles) is the story of Am‚lie Poulain (Audrey Tautou), a girl who grows up in a repressed and antisocial environment and turns to fantasy scenarios to make life interesting.

The cynically humorous tone of the film is set from the beginning when Am‚lie, as a young girl, is declared unfit to attend school because of a heart defect diagnosed by her father (Rufus Narcy), a retired military physician. The irony, however, as told by the narrator (Andr‚ Dussollier) is that her intense heartbeat was due to the excitement of receiving attention from her father (who only touched her during routine medical examinations).

Several years after the freakish tragedy of her mother’s death, Am‚lie decides to move out of her father’s house and into a small apartment in Montmartre, Paris. Jeunet takes the audience into his own version of the city with amazing sets and splendid cinematography.

Here Am‚lie’s life begins to take shape; a turning point in her life occurs with a discovery that leads her to believe her purpose is to help others, anonymously, through her own version of positive interference. However, she is confronted with pressing decisions about actively living her own life or quietly orchestrating the lives of those around her.

The narrative style of this film makes it truly spectacular. Writer Guillaume Laurant skillfully weaves the sparse dialogue between the continual narration, which provides an omniscient viewpoint about all the characters and goings on.

Jeunet fully engages the audience from the moment the opening credits begin to the very end. Every character in the film represents an archetype and the audience can relate to each, whether the character is likable, due to Jeunet’s clever vision and a magnificent delivery by the cast. The laughs come continuously but detract from the message and emotion.

The most interesting relationship in the film is between Am‚lie and her downstairs neighbor, Raymond Dufayel (Serge Merlin). Raymond is an old recluse who spends all of his time indoors repainting one of Renoir’s works. He tries to convince Am‚lie that she needs to embrace life and not live vicariously through her clandestine actions, both real and imagined.

Their conversations are disguised as an allegory about one girl in Renoir’s painting whose expression Raymond can’t master.

This relationship is masterfully crafted and Merlin does a fine job as a seemingly senile man who in fact is quite wise and astute.

In addition to a superb script, excellent cinematography, and outstanding direction, the actors (especially Tautou) do an amazing job with the subtleties of gesture and facial expression. This truly is one of the best films of the year and is no surprise that it is up for five Academy Awards, including Best Foreign Language Film, and has won a host of other awards.

**** 1/2

Russell Gorga is a graduate student in chemical engineering from Bridgewater, N.J