Petite Maman

 

Petite Maman
Starring Josephine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stephane Varupenne
Directed by Celine Sciamma

There's always something inherently innocent about how a child sees the world, even the bad that unfolds around them. They don't usually understand what's happening to its fullness, and at times they may be frightened or concerned about tragic events with a lack of understanding, but during the joyful times they're over the moon for the most simplest things, including building a fort in the woods. When I was a child, I remember the carefree moments of youth going out with my friends, riding our bikes through town, exploring the woods, splashing in the creek, and just enjoying the slow descent of time - until we grow up, and time speeds up exponentially, and our carefree youth is replaced by insurmountable amounts of worry, concern, doubt, fear, and mistrust. "Petite Maman" is an expertly written, directed, and performed film focusing on grief, regret, death, and yet also provides an almost melancholy feel that'll easily tug at your heartstrings and leave you with a newfound appreciation for life - even its ups and downs.

After the death of her grandmother, Nelly (Josephine Sanz), her father (Stephane Varupenne), and mother Marion (Nina Meurisse) go to her grandmother's house to tend to her belongings, and while her mother seems distant and in a deep sense of mourning, Nelly is feeling the same sense of mourning as she regrets not getting to properly say goodbye to the grandmother she loved so much. The next morning she talks to her mother about a fort she once built in the woods, and heads out to find it. She does, but she also finds a girl working on the fort as well. This girl - who's also named Marion (Gabrielle Sanz) - quickly becomes friends with Nelly, and invites her to her home: which is an identical copy of her grandmother's home. As the two girls grow closer, Nelly realizes what's happening, and is overjoyed to experience an event that could give her the closure she desperately needs.

Director and writer Celine Sciamma blew my mind with 2020's "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (my favorite movie of that otherwise dark year), and she returns again with "Petite Maman," and while I was expecting another straight-forward narrative, this film threw me for a loop as she expertly blended the normal with the seemingly supernatural, blending time in an effortless manner it was like spreading butter on a slice of toast. Typically I can see things coming in films like this, but after it ended I had to ask my friends I was with what happened, because I wasn't expecting that angle to the story. After putting the pieces together, I grew an even greater appreciation for the story, as it professionally dealt with death and grief through the eyes of an innocent child, but also provided a unique way to overcome those very adult feelings.

The story is told through the eyes of young Nelly, who's heartbroken about her grandmother's death, and her mother's own sense of grief and isolation. As someone who lost his grandmother years ago (and still affected by it, as grief tends to do), I felt her pain when she told her mother, "I didn't get to say goodbye." This is a statement that millions of people make when their loved one dies unexpectedly, and delivered with heart-shattering simplicity. When she meets young Marion in the woods, however, things begin to change for the good, as she appears to have made a new friend, but it goes much deeper than that - yet it's told simply, as seen through the eyes of a child. Sciamma has this unique way of framing her films to make them appear to be told through a different lens - "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is a piece of art brought to life, and "Petite Maman" is so simplistic in its higher-arching themes it's like seeing it through the literal eyes of a child.

Much admiration goes to young sisters Josephine and Gabrille Sanz, who play the young Nelly and Marion respectfully. Directors often say it's extremely difficult to direct kids and animals, but the young Sanz sisters dominate the screen in a deeply prolific way. Josephine's Nelly is still dealing with fresh grief, but also a sense of optimism, while Marion is dealing with an impending surgery that she's rightfully concerned about, but Nelly offers words of wisdom that appears to be wise beyond her years. These two young girls also excel at the silence - something you don't normally find when children are performing - as there's several moments of near silence, as the girls do normal girly things and just have fun being children in the light of the massive adult situation happening around them.

While most films nowadays run over two hours, "Petite Maman" proves that you can tell a story that'll grip your heart like a vice with a scant 71-minute runtime. While it might seem too short, the story it tells is profound and powerful, especially due to the subdued nature to the performances: there's not a lot of active dialogue, but the silence itself speaks volumes. You feel a deep connection with these characters in the short runtime, and not a second is wasted in this perfectly directed film.

The Score: A+