Petite Maman (2021)

Celiné Sciamma's charming film, "Petit Maman," is carefully set in early fall, a particularly enigmatic period of time where everything is in transition between summer joy and winter solemnity. We meet 8-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) as she's bidding adieu to the women in the nursing home in which her grandmother has just passed away. Along with her grieving mother, Marion (Nina Meurisse), and lackadaisical father (Stéphane Varupenne), the young girl goes to her grandmother's house, where her mother grew up, in order to clear it out for the last time.

Wandering in the woods, she runs into another 8-year-old girl (Gabrielle Sanz), who turns out to be, by some unexplained dint of fate and magic, to be her own mother, only from many years before. Naturally, the two hit it off immediately, and spend the few days they have together playing games, making pancakes, going for a raft ride, and enjoying each other's company.

Petite Maman (2021, dir. Céline Sciamma) - review by Rookie-Critic

"You did not invent my sadness."

Petite Maman was a quiet, understated, beautiful masterpiece. Director Céline Sciamma's follow up to the highly acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Petite Maman sees a mother and daughter mourning the loss of a mother/grandmother while trying to clear out the house that she lived in. Less is most definitely more here, and the lessons this movie gives on grief (both independent and shared), and how we handle death as adults, as children, and as parents are subtle, but extremely profound. Josephine and Gabrielle Sanz are incredibly bright young talents that get to handle the full brunt of this movie's emotional weight and they both do so beautifully. Do yourself a favor and go watch this. It is in French, but in today's world that should never stop you from seeing a film, especially one this good.

Score: 10/10

Currently available for streaming on Hulu.

I would like to amend my Top 20 Films of 2021 to place this squarely at #2 behind C'mon C'mon. Let the record show!

Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021)

Cast: Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, Margot Abascal. Screenplay: Céline Sciamma. Cinematography: Claire Mathon. Production design: Lionel Brison. Film editing: Julien Lacharay. Music: Jean-Baptiste de Laubier.

After watching so many movies that thud and blunder along for more than two hours to no lasting effect, it's a blessed relief to watch Céline Sciamma accomplish so much so quietly in just 72 minutes. Petite Maman begins with 8-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) saying goodbye to the residents of the nursing home where her grandmother has just died. She then accompanies her parents (Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne) to the house where her grandmother lived, but her mother is so overcome by emotion at the prospect of clearing out a place so laden with memories, that she leaves her husband and Nelly to finish the job. While her father does most of the work, Nelly wanders out to play in the autumnal woods near her grandmother's house. There she meets another 8-year-old called Marion (Gabrielle Sanz), who is building a hut out of fallen branches in the forest. Immediately we are struck by the fact that Nelly's mother, who is also named Marion, had told Nelly about the hut she had built in the forest. And so begins a bit of magic, in which we realize along with Nelly that she has traveled back in time to meet her own mother as a child. Sciamma does this revelation with such finesse that it took my breath away, crafting a haunting fable about family and memory and regret. It's only the most recent of her triumphs as a director, following such remarkable films as Water Lilies (2007), Tomboy (2011), Girlhood (2014), and the marvelous Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019). 

Films watched in 2021.

304: Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021)

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Petite Maman (2021)

Director - Céline Sciamma, Cinematography - Claire Mathon

"You know secrets aren't always things we are trying to hide. There's just no one to tell them to."

Petite Maman

directed by Céline Sciamma, 2021

Petite maman [2021 Céline Sciamma] ❤

Petite Maman (Sciamma, 2021)

Berlin Film Festival 2021 Review: Petite Maman ★★★★1/2

Berlin Film Festival 2021 Review: Petite Maman ★★★★1/2

Writer-director Céline Sciamma follows her 2019 Queer Palm-winning masterpiece Portrait of a Lady on Fire with the immensely evocative Petite Maman, which received its world premiere at Berlin today. While Portrait captured the intensity of romantic love between two women, Maman delicately and ingeniously explores the bond between mother and daughter. Eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) has…

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Petite maman, Céline Sciamma (2021)

'Petite Maman' Proves Once Again: Twins Rule!

Petite Maman (CREDIT: NEON) Starring: Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Stéphane Varupenne, Nina Meurisse, Margo Abascal Director: Céline Sciamma Running Time: 72 Minutes Rating: Unrated Release Date: April 22, 2022 (Theaters) I would love to have twins in my family. I guess it’s too late for me to have my own twin, but there’s still time for me to potentially be a father to twins. Maybe I’ll take…

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Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021)

Podcast: Petite Maman & Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Podcast: Petite Maman & Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Greetings, programs, and welcome to another episode of the Awesome Friday Podcast! This week we’re taking a look at Celine Schiamma’s delightful Petite Maman and the latest entry in the juggernaut that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Join us! (more…)

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Petite Maman

Recensie Petite Maman ★★★1/2 - te zien in de bioscoop en op @Piclnl Wie constant met de toekomst bezig is, leeft nu niet! Een kleine, fijne en fantasievolle film die misschien wel te kort duurt. #PetiteMaman

De dramafilm Petite Maman gaat over de achtjarige Nelly, die na het overlijden van haar oma een meisje ontmoet die haar aan iemand anders doet denken. Wat wij van Petite Maman vinden, lees je in onze recensie. (more…)

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