Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is the title of an exciting new animated film, an adaptation based on the best-selling autobiographical novel by the renowned French-speaking Belgian author, Amélie Nothomb. The film masterfully captures the wonder, mystery, and terrors of early childhood.
According to IBland’s news, Based on Amélie Nothomb’s highly acclaimed memoir, “Fear and Trembling” (Stupeur et Tremblements), this animation tells the story of a two-year-old Belgian girl growing up in Japan during the 1960s. The period from birth to age five is when the human brain develops faster than at any other time, yet it remains one of the hardest stages of life to successfully portray on screen. While films like “Look Who’s Talking” and “The Boss Baby” have attempted; and partially succeeded; in capturing the joy and chaos of infancy and toddlerhood, they often fall short in conveying the intense sense of discovery, mystery, and primal terror of that age.
Stepping Inside the Mind of a Child: The Core of Little Amélie
In the captivating French animation Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, these deep emotional states take center stage. The film prioritizes sensation over typical storytelling, inviting the audience deep into the mind of a child awakening to the world for the very first time. The narrative twist in this debut feature by co-directors Mailys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han is its commitment to depicting the vivid imagination of a little Belgian girl growing up in rural Japan in the 1960s. She confronts both the raw wonders of nature and the lingering, barely healed scars of a major war. This unique perspective is the heart of Amélie Nothomb’s vision brought to life.
Art and Inspiration: A Blend of Malick and Miyazaki
Set for release next Friday, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is a vibrant, child-friendly film that bravely tackles serious themes. Adapted from Amélie Nothomb’s novel Fear and Trembling, the film has been described as a beautiful fusion of the contemplative gaze of Terrence Malick and the fantastical world-building of Hayao Miyazaki. It blends playful psychology with surreal fantasies while maintaining a simple narrative thread, illustrating how its protagonist emerges from her ‘vegetative’ state to discover the joys and inherent dangers of real life.
The story begins with two-year-old Amélie living in an isolated, remote house deep in the beautiful forests near Kobe, Japan. Since she rarely speaks or reacts, observing the world in silence, a doctor tells her parents that their child is in a kind of “vegetative state.” However, two pivotal events shock the child out of her stupor: the first is an earthquake that rattles the house, and the second is the arrival of Amélie’s grandmother from Brussels, bearing the ultimate gift any child could wish for: Belgian white chocolate!
Amélie suddenly finds her voice, exhibiting a remarkable aptitude for language and observation that makes her beloved by her grandmother and turns her nurse into a trusted friend. Yet, a shadow looms: an elderly landowner who prowls around the property like a spirit from a Kenji Mizoguchi film, filling the young Amélie with fear.
Visual Style: Watercolor in Motion
Vallade and Han, who previously worked on major animation projects like The Little Prince, The Illusionist, and I Lost My Body before directing their first feature together, employed a distinctive visual style. The animation utilizes vibrant colors without the typical outlines separating one shade from another. This technique makes the film resemble a moving watercolor painting or a Japanese ink drawing rather than a traditional children’s cartoon. This artistic choice effectively highlights the simple yet profound wonders that Little Amélie discovers as she ventures out of the house and explores the world.
Source: Mehrnews