Petite Maman is a 2021 French film directed by Céline Sciamma. Already considered one of the best films of this century, it’s a simplistic film by nature, offering a family drama with elements of fantasy.
The story explores the life of young Nelly. She’s dealing with the death of her maternal grandmother, which is where the unique fantasy element is applied for an intriguing look into grief, loss, and acceptance.
A World of Understanding in Petite Maman
This is a short but sweet film at 72 minutes, each moment very well spent. It begins with eight-year old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) saying goodbye to elderly patients at a care home. This following the early death of her grandmother in her 60s.
Nelly’s mother Marion (Nina Meurisse) and her husband pack away the room’s belongings, then travel to the grandmother’s home with the plan of ensuring a proper goodbye.
The family stays there for several days, the mother despondent, leaving Nelly to head outside and distract herself with play. There she meets a local young girl also called Marion (Gabrielle Sanz, twin sister to Joséphine in the lead role).
It becomes apparent they share some weird similarities, how they both have a grandmother called Nelly who died recently. This is the fantasy element, with present Nelly coming to believe she’s encountered her mother as a young child and has travelled into the past.
Around this, away from the woods, she can return to her present day parents.
But when returning to the woods, she discovers her mother. The two bond, play, and build a shelter out in the woods during the autumn setting. Eventually, they also take a trip to the Pyramide de l’Axe Majeur (a tourist spot in the commune of Cergy to the northwest of Paris).
It’s difficult to pick a single scene from any of this, so the below tribute to the cinematography of the film is more fitting.
Again, a simple plot that deals with a lot of emotional weight. The fantasy theme plays out without major developments, there are instead just simple moments of delight between a mother/daughter as they deal with the death of a loved one.
This isn’t a criticism, but we do think Petite Maman is a film made by women for women. Especially if you’re a mother, as it’ll carry extra emotional weight with its themes. Some feedback to the film, by which we mean men, has been negative. Some man blokes don’t understand the point of the film. “Nothing happens”, being a common complaint we’ve spotted.
Yet, if you pay attention, beyond its seeming simplicity this is a film of nostalgia, grief, and a kind of existential awakening. All alongside elements of a coming of age story and connecting across generations.
All very well judged by director Sciamma, with that precise 72 minute running time replicating the fleeting nature of childhood and many relationships.
The Production of Petite Maman
Céline Sciamma wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It was shot in November 2020 and, although we couldn’t find numbers on its budget, it made a cool $2 million at the box office. Not bad for a small independent film like this.
It’s been critically acclaimed since launch, with the UK’s top film critic, Dr. Mark Kermode, raving about the film. It ended up being his favourite film of 2021.
Writing for The Guardian in April 2022, Dr. Kermode stated:
“Whether you are six or 60, this astonishingly insightful and heartbreakingly hopeful cinematic poem will pierce your heart, broaden your mind and gladden your soul, even as you wipe away tears.”
The big… WUSS! No, but seriously it’s considered one of the best films of 2000s. It wasn’t considered by the Oscars, but was nominated for (and won a bunch of) independent film awards. That includes the British Independent Film Awards of December 2021, we’re most pleased to confirm, and a BAFTA nomination in March 2022.
On a final note, with that Petite Maman title. In case your French isn’t spot on, it translates into English as Little Mom.
