Thoughts on Petite Maman

   On Hulu, I watched the French fantasy drama Petite Maman, directed by Celine Sciamma, and starring Josephine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Stephane Varupenne, Nina Meurisse, and Margo Abascal. It's a short movie, clocking in at 72 minutes long, and is a film about grief and mothers, and mixing in the past and present to understand one's mother more.

    Eight-year old Nelly (Josephine Sanz) just lost her maternal grandmother, and she and her mother Marion go with her father to her grandmother's house to clear it out, while Marion is still grieving. Marion ends up leaving during the night because it is so overwhelming for it, with so many memories, and Nelly, who regretted not getting to say a final goodbye to her grandmother, was asleep when Marion left and didn't say goodbye to her either.

    Nelly goes out to find a wooden hut that her mother had made as a child, and meets a little girl that looks like her twin (Gabrielle Sanz), and the two play together, becoming quick buddies. But more as Nelly plays with her, she realizes that this girl is integrally tied to her family's history, and it becomes more of a mix of fantasy and reality, exploring themes of motherhood and grief and sadness.

    I liked how this felt more like a poem than a film, like a romantic artsy poem that runs under 90 minutes, and it felt quiet and contemplative, and the Sanz sisters acted wonderfully and were compelling to watch, being very mature in well-written roles for them. 

  

 This also reminded me of the 2014 anime film When Marnie Was There, when a young girl named Anna goes to the country for awhile, and meets a young girl named Marnie, and they become fast friends, and Marnie's history is linked to Anna's as their friendship unravels. This had a similarity with Petite Maman of both being about young girls in the country who quickly become friends, and have ties to each other that blend fantasy and reality into something lovely.

    I enjoyed watching this beautiful, quiet film, which followed in Sciama's films focusing on female friendships (Girlhood, Portrait of a Lady on Fire), and just feeling soothing to watch on a Sunday morning.