REVIEW: Petite Maman (London Film Festival 2021)

Celine Sciamma’s latest is a magical realist fable, the beauty of which lies in its simplicity.

Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) is an eight year-old girl whose grandmother has just died after many years in a care home. Nelly’s mother (Nina Meurisse) is quietly grief-stricken and so, after a first night together, leaves her husband (Stéphane Varupenne) and Nelly to empty the home where she lived as a kid.

While playing out in the woods, Nelly encounters a girl of her own age, Marion (Gabrielle Sanz), who invites Nelly back to her home. To say more would be to intrude upon the gentle surprises that make Petite Maman such an unobtrusive pleasure.

At just 72 minutes long, the film focuses on the chemistry between the two girls, the moments of play, and growing familiarity between them. Both Nelly and Marion would otherwise spend their time in solitude – Nelly’s father, while not inattentive, is busy clearing the house; Marion’s mother (Margot Abascal) is unwell. Sciamma never condescends to her child cast or the experiences of her characters, but treats them with subtlety, restraint, and insight.

With its balanced autumnal cinematography, courtesy of Claire Mathon, and lack of music score, there’s a fidelity here, an unadornedness. Petite Maman is a quiet, observed film about what it means to be a kid: from birthday parties to saying goodbye.

It might not be to everyone’s tastes – admirers of Portrait of a Lady on Fire might be disappointed by its lack of narrative sweep – but the film is a minor gem in its own right.

Petite Maman is due for theatrical release in the UK on November 19th, 2021

Author: robertmwallis

Graduate of Royal Holloway and the London Film School. Founder of Of All The Film Sites; formerly Of All The Film Blogs. Formerly Film & TV Editor of The Metropolist and Official Sidekick at A Place to Hang Your Cape. Co-host of The Movie RobCast podcast (formerly Electric Shadows) and member of the Online Film Critics Society.

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