There are few films that evoke the sheer joy, or perhaps we should say joie de vivre, that Amélie does. Just look around, and you're bound to see more films that are cynical, moody, depressing, and violent than you are films that are upbeat and inspiring, especially good films for adults that aren't on the Hallmark channel.

How does Amélie do it? Through the sheer artistry of Jean-Pierre Jeunet, for one thing. He creates a world that is inventive and dynamic, full of bright colors and amazing scenery. Sure, the vision of Paris it is set in is not reality, but it's the way we all want the world to be on some level. Kind, happy, and full of people paying it forward.

Yet Jeunet manages to do all of this without being sappy. Name one other film that's about bringing people together that features a suicidal goldfish, a sex shop, and a man who hasn't left his apartment in twenty years. We'll wait.

Okay, no we won't, because we'd be waiting forever. The vision of Amélie is unique in that it finds drama in happiness. It's about building community in a world before the sharing economy took over, with Etsy, Uber, and Airbnb. Considering Amélie came out in November 2001, there's no wonder it was so successful in the U.S. It was released just a couple of months after the country needed some happiness the most.

Amélie does good deeds that bring people together not to get positive Yelp reviews, but purely for the joy that it brings her. Give her a shot.