How 'Little Amélie' takes on the big questions

The tale about a young Belgian girl is propelled by grown-up themes like loss of innocence

- Story by Carlos Aguilar

WHEN HE WAS 19, FRENCH filmmaker Liane-Cho Han received a copy of Amélie Nothomb's autobiographical 2000 novel "Métaphysique des tubes" from a close friend.

Told from the point of view of a 2 1/2-year-old Belgian girl growing up in 1960s Japan, the personal account chronicles the loving relationship between the perspicacious child, who believes she is God, and her family's Japanese housekeeper Nishio-san. Amélie grows up convinced she is Japanese and idealizing her family's temporary host country.

How the book allows the reader “to see the beauty of the world through her naive eyes” captivated a young Han. Now, he's turned the text into the whimsical and poignant animated feature "Little Amélie or the Character of Rain," with co-director Maïlys Vallade. The two met working as storyboard artists on Mark Osborne's "The Little Prince."

"At that young age I had this dream to maybe one day adapt it in animation," he says while in Los Angeles for the Animation Is Film Festival. "I felt like it was the only medium that could translate it."

Popular in Francophone countries, Nothomb's book includes introspective passages with literary descriptions of the author's feelings at that young age. "It's full of philosophical reflections," Vallade explains. "Amélie is a really singular child with a very mature mind."

To secure the rights, the directing duo wrote Nothomb a letter and included visual references from previous films they had worked on. Her publisher replied positively; however, the private author wouldn't be involved.