Petite Maman Parent Guide

Following the death of her maternal grandmother, eight-year-old Nelly (Josephine Sanz) and her family go to grandmother’s home to clear out a lifetime’s worth of possessions. Nelly is naturally curious about her mother’s (Nina Meurisse) childhood, but the experience is depressing and difficult for her mother, who abruptly leaves in the middle of the night. Nelly stays behind with her father (Stephane Varupenne), who finishes cleaning up the house while Nelly explores the woods behind the house. There, she meets a young girl who’s working on a little hut. Named Marion (Gabrielle Sanz), the girl seems strangely familiar, and a friendship develops quickly. When Marion brings Nelly home for lunch, the reason for the familiarity becomes apparent: Nelly realizes that Marion is a younger version of her own mother.

Exploring loss and sadness from the perspective of a child, Petite Maman is, ironically, not a great choice for children. The film isn’t inappropriate in any conventional sense, but it is perhaps too emotionally subtle and slow-paced for younger viewers. Even with a brisk runtime clocking in barely over an hour, the film spends a lot of time silently observing as its characters think about their lives. It’s interesting, but not exactly exhilarating.

Partially due to that short runtime, the film has a distinctly ephemeral feel, telling a strange, transitory story which relies on the adaptability of children to strangeness. It actually does a very good job at building and maintaining that unusual tone throughout, but whether or not you’ll enjoy the atmosphere is another question.

The film’s biggest problem, for me, is the subdued nature of the child acting. While I’m sure it’s an intentional directing choice, on some occasions it costs the film a measure of emotional immediacy which would have benefited this odd little story. In choosing such a compact narrative, the film shackles itself more than most to the smaller parts of its performances, and by turning the intensity down on those performances, the film as a whole becomes somewhat duller than it needs to be. This isn’t a film with mass appeal, but or adult audiences who enjoy different approaches and different stories, Petite Maman is a surprisingly engaging offering.