Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
A developing child internalizes about the nature of God as a being that cares about nothing but ingesting and expelling, something like a tube. Once externalized as a baby, a doctor considers its fixed, green-eyed stare and tells its parents it is a vegetable, but Patrick (voice of Marc Arnaud), a Belgian diplomat in Japan, and especially mother Danièle (voice of Laetitia Coryn). embrace the quiet, enough ruckus created by their two other children. But when Patrick's mother (voice of Cathy Cerda) arrives unexpectedly and feeds her new, two and half year-old granddaughter a square of Belgian white chocolate, the little girl is truly born in "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain."
Laura's Review: B+
Cowriters (with Aude Py and Eddine Noël)/director Maïlys Vallade and co-director Liane-Cho Han Jin Kuang have taken Amélie Nothomb's biographical 'Métaphysique des tubes' and turned it into a delightful animation, little Amélie (voice of Loïse Charpentier) embracing the culture of the only country she knows while her family's landlady, Kashima-San (voice of Yumi Fujimori), views them through the lens of WWII. Kashima-San is the first to find a wooden block thrown through an upstairs window, and when the scowling woman returns it to Amélie's dad, she notes the household chaos and suggests a young woman to help them, which they gratefully accept. Nishio-San (voice of Victoria Grobois) will arrive at the same time as Amélie's granny and will become the older woman's Japanese counterpart in the little girl's world.
When Nishio-San vacuums, Amélie is entranced by how the machine makes things disappear, believing it to be a fellow god. This will cause her to say her first words, 'vacuum cleaner,' to the astonishment of her parents, who quickly learn she already has an entire vocabulary, but while she will name Mama, Papa and sister Juliette (voice of Haylee Issembourg), she refuses to acknowledge bullying brother André (voice of Isaac Schoumsky), a barb that stings. When Amélie throws a tantrum, pulling books off shelves, Nishio-San begins to replace them, but when the toddler defiantly tips another onto the floor, Nishio-San doesn't get mad, instead engaging Amélie with a book about Yokai, supernatural Japanese beings. When dad acknowledges his son with wind socks designed like carp, Nishio-San takes Amélie to the temple to feed real ones, the little girl both recoiling from and laughing at faces she deems ugly, like her brother.
Amélie is shocked to witness her father crying, and, upon learning of her beloved grandmother's death, turns to Nishio-San. The young woman is taken aback by the momentous question, relaying how she lost her own family during the war, the little girl soberly absorbing all. So, when Patrick returns from Belgium and decides to take his family to the beach, when Amélie doesn't want to go, Nishio-San convinces her with her own cherished family memory. Two magical things will happen that day, Amélie regarding her brother in a new light, a simple gift to Nishio-San producing magic. It is also a foreshadowing of sorts, one which will also heal the rift with Kashima-San.
The animation here is distinctive, an unusual palette of salmons and peaches against unnatural greens and pinks used for us to view nature through the eyes of a toddler. Amélie's are a vibrant green, the color, if not the saucer shape, shared by father, grandmother and brother. Figures are often not distinguished from their backgrounds or even their own parts, an arm atop a leg disappearing into it, giving an impressionistic effect. The film's title is explained when Nishio-San tells Amélie her name is the same as for rain in Japanese, tracing its kanji symbol on a glass door, her breath making it reappear when it begins to fade.
"Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" encompasses many things within the first three years of a little girl's life and does so with genuine emotion and artistry. It's simply lovely.
Robin's Review: B
GKIDS releases "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain" in theaters on 11/7/25.
