Petite Maman
Composite Score: 85.17
Starring: Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, and Margot Abascal
Director: Céline Sciamma
Writer: Céline Sciamma
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Coming of Age
MPAA Rating: PG for some thematic elements and brief smoking
Box Office: $1.99 million worldwide
Why should you Watch This Film?
Petite Maman is Céline Sciamma’s film about a little girl whose grandmother has just died and her adventures in the woods around the grandmother’s old house while her parents clean it out. It follows Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) as she meets and befriends another little girl, Marion (Gabrielle Sanz), in the woods after her mother leaves early from the cleaning because of her melancholic state. Sciamma’s skillful exploration of grief, childhood, and the relationship between mothers and daughters makes for a simple but masterful film, easy to watch and easy to enjoy. It received a BAFTA nomination for Best Non-English Language Film, and it is considered by many to be one of the best films of the decade so far.
Why shouldn’t you Watch This Film?
Sciamma is a master of showing rather than telling, and that comes through again in Petite Maman as she crafts this fantastical story of a girl travelling through time(?) to process her grief at the loss of her grandmother and finding a companion there working through the same process. I expect that more than a few mainstream audience members have found themselves frustrated at the film’s end, trying to understand the what and the why and the how of it all rather than living in the experience of the truth and connection that the film provides. It’s not a film with an easily explained concept, but that should be okay because that wasn’t the point of the film. I do know that there are people who like to know, though, and for you, I’d say that this probably isn’t going to be the best cup of tea for you.
So wait, why should you Watch This Film?
It’s not the intricate how’s of Sciamma’s childhood fantasy that make it such a great film, but her simple and moving examination of grief and family make for a truly excellent entry into the catalogues of films. Nelly’s curiosity and depth of thought speak to truths that we all feel when we experience loss. Through this child, we get to look at the many questions that we have in such times and the uncertainty that inevitably comes with that kind of change and reflection. Her friendship with Marion hearkens to the need that even adults have to be kind to their inner child in those moments and to give them a chance to live and express when we feel strongly. Even in Nelly’s interactions with her father, we see our inevitable need for an anchor to return to in the midst of the tragedy to hold us up and support us. The whole thing ends up being this cathartic rumination on grief that encourages its audience to be better to each other at all times and to remember when others have been good to us in the tough times.
With Petite Maman, Céline Sciamma tells a simple story full of profound truths about family and grief and loss that begs its audience to care for the humans around them with a sense of openness and understanding, earning itself a spot among the greats in the process. Its underexplained premise might be more than some viewers would prefer to engage with, but those who do will be rewarded with an easy watch about connection and family that just might be the fresh breath of positivity that they need that day. It can currently be streamed on Hulu for anyone looking to check it out in the coming days.
