Amélie (Pauline Etienne) was born in Japan. She always wanted to be Japanese despite born to Belgian parents and moving back to Belgium when she was five. She's 20 and tries to immerse herself in the Japanese culture. She gets hired by Rinri as a private French tutor. He's her only student. They grow closer together. She gets an one-year contract with a large Japanese company. She hates her job and Rinri proposes to her. She's reluctant and then the 2011 tsunami hits Japan.Most of this has a charming Lost in Translation feel. The romance also has its charms. Pauline Etienne has an endearing wide-eyed persona. Her character does a turn in her attitude. There should be more to that part of the story. The tsunami is a splash of cold water from the real world. The last act is a little abrupt. Overall, this is a charming little movie.

Top marks for this excellently directed picture about a highly motivated Belgian who sets out to give French lessons and immediately meets the charming Rinri, whose parents happen to be quite extraordinarily eccentric and very rich. Soon they are making love in his home, and Amelie (Pauline Etienne) is over the moon. He takes her (and us) everywhere, including to a goods yard where some brightly illuminated trucks appear. She loves it, and so do we. This is simply an adorable film with a suitably sad ending, highly recommended.

SPOILERSAmelie (Pauline Etienne) returns to Japan after many years of being away. Everyone speaks very fast! Such energy. Amelie even speaks of the energy and happiness she feels. Right off, I notice the neat, organized gardens, even at the houses near the train tracks. She starts teaching French to a rich Japanese boy "Rinri", played by Taichi Inoue. Although he seems to know just as much francais as she does. My first thought was: rich kid hires a tutor to find a girlfriend. Was kind of fun to hear the mix of Japanese and French, as they meet up with Rinri's friends. We also see all the fun Japanese gadgets, and the dekotora. Funny scene of the old man singing over the transit trains... where no-one will be disturbed. They could have left out the scene where Amelie sings her corny "happy" song. Beautiful scenes of the Japanese countryside when she goes hiking. The whole length of the film, we are wondering, as Amelie is wondering, "Where is this going?" It got a bit confusing. At first, the flashes into her mind are amusing, but sometimes its difficult to know what is real and what she is thinking in her mind. Fine performances by Etienne and Inoue. This was the first and only film for Inoue so far, but Etienne has done many. Directed by Stefan Liberski, who has worked in films for many years. Story by Amélie Nothomb... note that this is also the name of our lead. Wonder if this is also her story. Sad ending. Clearly the relationship went the way that the author wanted (or experienced in real life) or she could have taken steps to keep the relationship alive. This received such (un-deserved) low ratings on netflix. It's not bad. Pretty good.

Amélie (Pauline Etienne) was born in Kansai but she is Belgian, unfortunate twist of fate as she stubbornly wants to become « a venerable Japanese writer ». So at the age of 20 Amelie leaves Belgium for Japan to realize her dream. There, to earn her living, she teaches french to Rinri (Taichi Inoue), a young Japanese french culture enthusiast, as sweet and charming as he is sometimes impenetrable… From the ryokans on Sado Island to the streets of Shinjuku, in the intimacy of a cozy room on a rainy and bathing in the hot water of onsens, Amélie and Rinri take a great delight in being together, like enamored kids exploring the pleasures of love, between complicity, fondness and sensuality. But in the mist of discovery and fantasy, it is sometimes difficult to answer the most important : who am I, what do I want ?Through breast-taking shots of Japanese city, suburbs, rivers and mountains, Stefan Liberski offers a coming-of-age film in the form of a playful comedy, funny, light but not always as light as it seems, brought to life by a remarkable pair of actors."Delicious, yes, that's the word."