By John Corrado
The feature directorial debut of French animators Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is a gorgeous animated film that lets us view the world through a child’s eyes. The film is based on The Character of Rain, a short novel by Belgian author Amélie Nothomb, which was inspired by her own childhood.
We follow Amélie (Loïse Charpentier), a Belgian toddler who is moved to Japan with her parents and two older siblings. Much of the story takes place before her third birthday, building off the Japanese belief that children are “gods” until the age of three. We are watching a child’s theory of mind and sense of self developing, from little Amélie believing she is the God-like centre of the universe, to discovering there’s an entire, separate world around her.
This allows the film to explore ideas about death, rebirth, divinity, and identity, including the special bond that little Amélie forms with her Japanese caretaker Nishio-san (Victoria Grobois). The dynamic is complicated by Amélie being part of a white family living in post-war Japan, a nuance that she doesn’t fully grasp yet, but is sensitively handled in the film’s narrative.
The pastel colours and gentle animation are matched by Mari Fukuhara’s lovely score. With its Japanese countryside setting and pastoral backgrounds, the film has shades of Miyazaki, including illusions to that definitive childhood classic My Neighbour Totoro. At just 78 minutes, the film is often magical and accessible to all ages.
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