Petite Maman

Directed by Céline Sciamma, Petite Maman follows a little girl (Joséphine Sanz’s Nelly) as she’s taken to her mother’s childhood home in the wake of her grandmother’s death – with the thin narrative detailing Nelly’s aimless exploits and her eventual friendship with a local child (Gabrielle Sanz’s Marion). Filmmaker Sciamma, working from her own screenplay, delivers an exceedingly low-key (and thoroughly slight) drama that is, for the most part, pleasant enough, as the picture boasts strong performances by its various actors and a smattering of admittedly affecting moments (eg Nelly asks her father what scared him when he was younger). It’s equally clear, however, that Sciamma’s meandering modus operandi does prove a test to one’s patience, with, especially, the movie’s second half, which consists mostly of scenes wherein the girls play with one another, suffering from a somewhat oppressive vibe and ensuring that the picture generally feels longer than its scant 72 minute running time. The presence of a few striking sequences in the closing stretch, including a fairly jaw-dropping final scene, ultimately cements Petite Maman‘s place as an erratic yet basically watchable endeavor, and it does seem likely, certainly, that the film will fare best among devotees of Sciamma’s decidedly distinct sensibilities.

**1/2 out of ****