Review of Petite Maman (2021) by Ancientamber — 22 Jun 2022

So I mostly loved the film.

I feel like getting some criticisms off my chest though. Firstly, for me, the "Nelly" child actor wasn't great. She wasn't actively annoying thank god, but despite the French language I noticed she was kinda flatly delivering lines that should have had more variation. She also didn't act with her eyes and walked like she knew she was being filmed. I'm very sensitive to bad child acting though, so I'm like primed to notice these things, unfortunately.

I also noticed that some of the writing was a bit weird. The film does that thing where kids say things kids would never say - e.g. "you didn't invent my sadness".

I only mention all this because in spite of these things I found the film very effective and moving. The Dad actor was actually great and exuded warmth. The scenes where the girls were clearly basically left to play and forget they were being filmed worked fantastically.

By the last third of the film when petite mamon learns what's going on I was fully emotionally engaged. The line "I'm already thinking about you" absolutely sent me.