25 years of Amélie: French favourite gets anniversary re-release in Ireland 

Audrey Tautou charmed all round in a breakthrough role in 2001. Esther McCarthy looks back on a film that became an international phenomenon

Audrey Tautou in the title role of Amélie in 2001. 

Twenty five years ago, Audrey Tautou’s Amélie first walked the cobbled streets of her neighbourhood Montmartre in Paris — and sowed the seeds of what was to become a cinema classic.

The then relatively unknown Tautou, filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet and screen writer Guillaume Laurant combined to make movie magic. The story of a quirky and lonely woman who set out to find joy in the everyday through small acts of kindness resonated with audiences the world over.