hello there dear researchers~

in the movie amelie, there is a scene where amelie spills coffee on
georgette the tobacconist in an effort to get her together with
joseph.  georgette is understandably upset with amelie bc the coffee
is on the front of her blouse.

she yells 'bravo!  vive la france' and '10 out of 10' 'bullseye' as
she walks to the bathroom to clean herself up.

of course she is being sarcastic with these remarks, but the 'vive la
france' interests me in particular.  is it as odd and silly as it
sounds translated in english (which, when subbed for the movie was
simply 'vive la france' :D), or is this something ppl usually say when
they would say things like 'bullseye' or 'bravo!'.

thanks in advance!

Hello Banchan.

I've seen the film, and I believe that the phrase is meant ironically.

"Vive la France!" is a patriotic slogan that means "Long live France!"
The phrase is generally used in the same sense that Americans might
say "God bless America," or chant "USA! USA! USA!"

Cheers of "Vive la France!" are typically heard at political rallies,
sporting events, and other events where an expression of national
pride is appropriate.

When the character in the movie says "Bravo!  Vive la France! 10 out
of 10. Bullseye," she is sarcastically mimicking the way "Vive la
France" is generally used, particularly with respect to sports. When a
French soccer team scores a goal in an international competition, fans
often shout, "Vive la France!" Similarly, if a Frenchman were winning
the Tour de France bicycle race, the crowd might enthusiastically
cheer him on with "Vive la France!"

In the movie, the character considers Amelie's "clumsiness" to be the
precise opposite of the sort of athletic prowess that would deserve a
cheer of "Vive la France!" or "Bravo!" Thus, her use of the phrase is
meant to be ironic.

For examples of how the phrase is often used in connection with French
national success in sports, see these web pages:

Siemens: World Cup '98
http://www.ad.siemens.de/news/html_76/simrepo/2_98/html_76/anw5_1.htm
Maxifoot: World Cup '98 Headlines
http://www.maxifoot.com/allezlesbleus/Media/News/AFP/AFP-1998-07-14-02.html
The BBC: Cycling
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/1309266.stm

search strategy: "vive la france"

I hope this helps.

thank you :)