• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • FMTV
  • Socials
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • TRENDING TOPICS:
  • Star Wars
  • Marvel
  • DC
  • Physical Media
  • Write for Us

57th Chicago International Film Festival Capsule Review – Petite Maman

October 21, 2021 by Robert Kojder

Petite Maman, 2021.

Written and Directed by Céline Sciamma.
Starring Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, and Margot Abascal.

SYNOPSIS:

Nelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother’s childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods. One day she meets a girl her same age building a treehouse.

One doesn’t need to think too hard to figure out what writer/director Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman is actually about (especially after reading the brief synopsis), as even knowing what’s coming is impossible to take away from the magical realism beauty of the dynamic. Such a revelation used in a film this pure of heart and intention is enough to make one wonder what else could brilliantly be done with the countless tropes of its kind out there.

Hot off of the astonishing Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Petite Maman couldn’t be a more different project in tone, functioning as one of the most charmingly wholesome movies of the year but not with a great deal of layered substance worth unpacking. At 72 minutes as brisk and breezy as the autumn setting, it’s even more tantalizing to dig into on repeat watches.

Céline Sciamma, working with her regular collaborator Claire Mathon, captures beautiful scenery ripe for playful adventures (a sailing scene, in particular, stands out as breathtaking) that develop into something tangible and emotional. Petite Maman is a cutesy and relaxed take on stepping into someone else’s shoes and understanding their perspective while attempting to grasp a more crystallized meaning of who they are and were. It may be small in a physical sense of scope (the film was clearly made during the ongoing global health crisis and is assuredly one of the most distinctly inventive films to come out of it), but artistically it’s an ambitiously enchanting, heart-meltingly sincere, and thoughtful work.

Petite Maman screened as part of the 57th Chicago International Film Festival

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com

 

FacebookTwitterFlipboardRedditPinterestWhatsApp

Filed Under: Festivals, Movies, Reviews, Robert Kojder Tagged With: Céline Sciamma, Gabrielle Sanz, Joséphine Sanz, Margot Abascal, Nina Meurisse, Petite Maman, Stéphane Varupenne

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Cannon’s Avengers: What If… Cannon Films Did the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Every Star Wars Movie Ranked From Worst to Best

The Best UK Video Nasties Of All Time

Action Movies Blessed with Stunning Cinematography

20 Years Back: The Films of 2003

Ten Underrated Movies From 2013 That Deserve More Love

Essential Vampire Movies To Sink Your Teeth Into

Crazy Vampire Tales from 1988: Vampire’s Kiss and Lair of the White Worm

Essential Forgotten Films That Are Well Worth Seeking Out

The Essential Exorcism Movies of the 21st Century

FEATURED POSTS:

Asian Shock Horror Movies You Have To See

15 Great Feel-Good Sing-a-Long Movies

Die Hard on a Shoestring: The Low Budget Die Hard Clones

Trending Now

  1. The Essential New French Extremity Movies
  2. Exclusive Interview – Joseph Quinn on Catherine the Great, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and more
  3. Movie Review – Old Man (2022)
  4. Movie Review – Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023)
  5. Movie Review – The Flash (2023)
  6. Mark Hamill on Star Wars return as Luke Skywalker: “I just don’t see any reason to”
  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • FMTV
  • Socials
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Collinson Media Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.