Amélie, a Belgian child in Japan, explores life with her companion Nishio-san. Her third birthday becomes a turning point, marking the beginning of life-altering events that shape her understanding of the world.
‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’ is a French/Belgian animated movie that has been nominated for the ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ award at this year’s Oscars (chances of winning nil I suspect given the dominance of the K-Pop Demon Hunters!). It’s based on a novel by Amélie Nothomb about a young girl who is born in a vegetative state to a Belgian family who are living in Kobe, Japan, and follows her story from when she breaks free of this state after an earthquake on her 2nd birthday. It comes in at barely over 70 minutes, so it is a pretty short movie, and though the premise sounds fantastical in nature, the narrative is more grounded in the themes it explores.
Prior to the earthquake, Amélie believes she is a god on account of her condition, and that mindset continues once two people arrive who will go on to be key in her young life: her grandmother Claude, and a nanny Nishio-san. They both help Amélie to bond with the rest of her family (aside from brother Andre, who is a typical sibling!), and Amélie in turn develops a strong connection with both of them which drives much of the story. The film utilises a kaleidoscopic colour palette and bright imagery to bring the story to life and show the wonder of seeing the natural world through the eyes of a child, though this cutesy visual approach belies a story that delves into some more thoughtful material.
Throughout the short runtime, Amélie has to deal with people she loves going away, grief and the challenges of growing up in a foreign country where to you its home, but to everyone else, including your family, it is not. It is set 30 years after the end of World War II and the scars of that play a part largely through the character of Kashima-san, the Belgian families landlord, who resents the presence of westerners after events many years in the past. Amélie is a curious young child and she absorbs information and her surroundings, which makes it all the more heartbreaking when she is confronted with concepts that she doesn’t, and ‘Little Amélie or the Character of Rain’ is at its best when it shows how she deals with the complex emotions these throw up.
This is a sweet little animated movie that perhaps lacks the depth to really stand out, but I did find it to be quite moving.
Rating: x/5
Directed By: Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han
Starring: Loïse Charpentier, Emmylou Homs, Victoria Grosbois, Yumi Fujimori, Cathy Cerdà, Marc Arnaud, Laetitia Coryn, Haylee Issembourg and Isaac Schoumsky
'I remember details, events, people. The world had an order.' 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 