Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes

It begins with a philosophical tone and never reaches the point of explaining its claims, leaving them in the realm of interpretation.

The true purpose of this narrative style seems to be serving as a foundation for imagery that is magical and fantastical.

Everything is used effectively, but it is a relatively slow film that requires time to appreciate, functioning as a reflective and emotional piece that stands out through its use of sound.

The sound design is executed with mastery, drawing on the setting and the child's imagination to immerse the viewer.

A deeply sentimental work with profound symbology.

An animated coming of age film about a Belgian family who lives in Japan where a young little Amelie came to be. It practically shows her development as seen over a her own perspective - while she mythologize her origin story for a lack of better word.

Interesting way to present a kid's perspective. I personally think that it comes a bit too much at times especially it posits it's a child POV of her world. Like ok, she either gonna be narcissist if she thinks this way - literally the center of the world. But as time progresses, it does drop down into this more realistic viewpoint of her crumbling identity. It patterns her sense of knowingness with the story she tells.

Though, it really hits certain levels of interesting topics like the rising racial clash that is also being more present in current Japan. In addition, that weird subset of the immigrant experience. They were Belgians in Japan and they are growing this sense of Nationality. It grazes it.

Ultimately, It just lacks that x-factor. It's one of those technically good films but it never left a great impression. It tries to be expansive but it feels too juvenile without capturing that levels that I feel better films of this genre had. It works as a child film but as an adult watching it felt like it lacks that certain bent that I wish it had. It's the same way for Turning Red. It works but it never left that child film genre.

Soft Recommendation.

While this may be a low concept story, the uniqueness of the animation makes this entertaining and even wholesome enough to watch. Not to mention, the deep yet simple relationship between Amelie and Nishio-san.

It's rare to find media about a toddler, and if they are, they often have to make the toddler act wise and mature beyond their years or they end up flat. While this is certainly true of Amelie, she does still have a childlike imagination and sulky petulance that grounds her.

My major issue is the third act. I feel like there was too much drama and doesn't really resolve anything nicely.

Overall though very cute, very wholesome feel-good story.

The story is moving, heavy with symbolism. Funny, sad, confusing, truly the world seen by a child.

Well written script that feels like reading a novel and listening to someone's story at the same time. Very metaphor heavy.

The best part is the animation. The small things are given so much detail as to make the world feel real. The painterly style is unique and you can see how much work went into every single frame. The expressive faces, the landscapes, the complex settings, the color theory ... both artistically and technically impressive.

Worth a watch. Family friendly feel good movie with some real depth.

The animation is very nice, and it's a cute little autobiographical story, although one can wonder just how much detail could the author actually remember from the first three years of her life.

However, given the original title, which literally translates as "The Metaphysics of Tubes" and talk about God in the beginning, I was expecting something very different and can't help thinking that her book and subsequent movie have been way overmarketed. The translators probably saw this and toned-down the title to a more acceptable "Caracter of rain".