At 72 minutes, Sciamma's latest film is sparse and delicate, but fully realized. Though it could have been gimmicky, the premise turns out to be simple and surprisingly straightforward, with Sciamma putting the focus on mother-daughter relationships above all else, making the film that much more magical and beautiful.
Its achievement lies in the space it creates for these children to open up a dialogue they rarely get to have – one that inevitably asks more questions, but that welcomes them as mature thinkers, keen to understand more about those raising them and the conditions in which they are being raised
It’s particularly resonant, packed with emotion and insight that will move the director’s admirers (who should consider watching it alongside their own children) and probably garner her some new ones.
Petite Maman is, amongst other things, a beautiful ode to mother-daughter love and a melancholy acknowledgment of the distance that always exists in that relationship, when both parties are separated by age and responsibility.
In their children, parents often see reflections of the kids they once were. But daughters can’t access those same memories without a little magic. And that’s just what Petite Maman delivers: the spell that makes such a reunion possible, if only in our imaginations.
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At 72 minutes, Sciamma's latest film is sparse and delicate, but fully realized. Though it could have been gimmicky, the premise turns out to be simple and surprisingly straightforward, with Sciamma putting the focus on mother-daughter relationships above all else, making the film that much more magical and beautiful.
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