Petite Maman

Relentlessly touching...

Petite Maman is a pithy, gemlike film.

A lovely and delicate lesson on processing big emotions in tiny packages.

This is an ethereal film that works better on an emotional level than it does a literal level; it's a film that feels, so let yourself feel it, too. That's the real stuff.

Petite Maman is a fine balance of heartache and whimsy.

“Petite Maman” is what every film should be: powerfully, even arrestingly original; grounded in emotional truth; hyper-specific; deeply universal; strange; mesmerizing; and not a minute longer than necessary.

Sciamma’s handling of the interactions between the kids is as confident and as beautifully realized as the depiction of relationships in Water Lilies, Tomboy and Girlhood.

There are some hard adult truths, but the film is so filled with little notes of grace and tenderness that it leaves us with the sense that the world has much more wonder than sadness, more connection that isolation, more hope than cynicism.

Sciamma embraces time travel without the sci-fi world-building and creates a ghost story using the living. By taking fear out of these genres and turning them into quotidian and poignant experiences, Sciamma erases fear from death and loss.

Fans of Celine Sciamma are sure to delight in the beauty and power of Petite Maman. If you’re looking for a soft, heartwarming film that knows how to pack an emotional punch, you won’t be disappointed in this film.