Salguero Selects

Hi, and welcome to Salguero Selects – my weekly feel-good film recommendation.
Each week I’ll be recommending a film for you (and maybe your family) to enjoy and the focus will be on the warm and fuzzy. Films that simply can’t fail to cheer you up. Some of these might be classics we all know and love, but some might be ones you’ve never even heard of! But they’ll all have one thing in common: the feel-good factor!
This week’s film is one of my absolute favourites! It’s in my top ten films of all time (well, actually, as my Film Studies students will tell you, it’s a top eight – I can never quite settle on a final two!).
During lockdown, I’ve seen lots of examples of people doing good deeds for others. Examples include people leaving Easter Eggs on the doorsteps of children with rainbows in their windows, people starting up food banks in their front gardens and encouraging others to help themselves to anything they need, hundreds of thousands of people volunteering to help the NHS and many other small things that can make a big difference. This altruism (the selfless concern for the wellbeing of others) shows humans at their best and is very much at the heart of this film…
Amélie
If anyone ever asks me to name a feel-good film, this is the first one I think of! It absolutely brims with joy and is an utterly beautiful piece of work. The only reason I didn’t begin my series of blogs with this film is that it’s not as accessible as some of the other films on my list. As it is rated 15, this is one for our older students (and their parents – and staff, of course!) and I’ll point out straight away that it is a French film with subtitles. But, please, please, PLEASE don’t let this put you off; I promise you won’t even notice after ten minutes or so.
The film centres around the eponymous Amélie, a Parisian waitress who grew up in an isolated house with a father who struggled to show her his love. As an adult, she is very shy and remains quite lonely but one day, she makes a discovery in her apartment: a box full of someone’s childhood memorabilia. She determines to find its owner and decides that, if it brings them joy, she will dedicate her life to making other people happy. To her delight, when the man opens the box and sees all the memories within, he weeps with joy and resolves to reconcile with his estranged daughter and a grandson he has never met.
Amélie then sets off on her mission to bring happiness to others in a series of anonymous good deeds that bring joy to others whilst seeking no recognition for herself. The result is a beautiful, quirky and heart-warming story that will leave you also wanting to go and do good deeds!
Reasons your parents will enjoy it: Next time they’re in a Zoom meeting with work, they can drop it into conversation so they look cultured.
Reasons your younger siblings will enjoy it: It’s rated 15 so not suitable for younger siblings – save it for when they’ve gone to bed.
Reasons you’ll enjoy it: Because it’s full of warm and fuzzy quirkiness, it looks gorgeous and it might just inspire you to do some random acts of kindness of your own!
(Currently available on Amazon Prime and YouTube Movies).