Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amelie. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was introduced to the accordion and piano-driven music of Yann Tiersen by his production assistant. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen’s entire catalogue and eventually commissioned him to compose pieces for the film. The soundtrack features both compositions from Tiersen’s first three albums, as well as new items, variants of which can be found on his fourth album, L’Absente, which he was writing at the same time. Before discovering Tiersen, Jeunet wanted composer Michael Nyman to score the film.
Tiersen remained relatively unknown outside France until the release of his score for Amelie (Original French title: Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amélie Poulain, English: The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain) in 2001. Director Jeunet bought all of Tiersen’s albums, and then contacted him to see if the Breton composer was interested in writing the film score for Amélie. In two weeks, Tiersen composed nineteen pieces for the film and also allowed the production to take anything they wanted from his other records.
Amélie received great critical acclaim and was a box-office success. The film went on to win the Best Film award at the European Film Awards, four Cesar Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, two BAFTA Awards, including Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for five Academy Awards. The soundtrack was a mixture of both new and previously released material, and Tiersen was also the recipient of the Cesar Award for Best Music Written for a Film, and of the World Soundtrack Academy award. The soundtrack album charted in many countries, including the number one position on the French Albums Chart.
Besides the accordion and piano, the music features parts played with harpsichord, banjo, bass guitar, vibraphone, and even a bicycle wheel at the end of “La Dispute” (which plays over the opening titles in the motion picture). “Les Jours Tristes” was co-written with Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy. The track later received English lyrics, and was released by The Divine Comedy as a b-side to the Regeneration single, “Perfect Lovesong.” The English-language version also appeared on Tiersen’s L’Absente.
The band New Found Glory covered “J’y suis jamais allé” on their second covers album From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II. The song was also used by Expression Crew in their dance act Marionette. Pianist, composer Dmytro Morykit arranged and plays a cover version of “Comptine d’un autre été : L’après-midi”.
