Little mama | Little tale, big movie ★★★★

After the triumph, everywhere on the planet, of Portrait of the girl on fireCéline Sciamma has chosen to return to a more stripped-back cinema and to recurring themes in her work.

Marc-Andre Lussier
The Press

Having this ability to evoke the mysteries of childhood with subtlety and accuracy, the one to whom we owe in particular tomboybut also the scenario of My Zucchini Lifean animated film in which “poqué” children were brought together to learn solidarity together, offers here a film that is nothing short of remarkable.

The heroine of Little mom is Nelly (Joséphine Sanz), an 8-year-old girl. Her grandmother having just died, Nelly first makes the rounds of the residents with whom she lived in a center to say goodbye to them, somewhat in the name of the deceased. The filmmaker also evokes very naturally the nature of the bond uniting the little girl to her bereaved mother (Nina Meurisse) while the latter, at the wheel of the car, allows herself to be fed by a small hand, that of Nelly, sitting just behind. The scene ends with a simple and tender embrace, a little as if the little girl had given herself the mission of protecting her mother from the pain she is experiencing.

Having accompanied her parents, who had to go to the house of the deceased grandmother to make an inventory of what is there, Nelly discovers a child’s hut under construction in the vicinity and is invited by a little girl from the same age at completion. From then on, a mirror effect takes place that Céline Sciamma uses to establish a dialogue between Nelly and her mother. The girl of the same age, interpreted by Gabrielle Sanz (twin of Josephine), is named Marion. She is experiencing exactly what Nelly’s mother, also named Marion, experienced in her childhood.

Very simple, but how rich

Borrowing the form of a fantastic tale during which a dialogue between a mother and a daughter who would be at the same stage of their life engages, this film is quite simple, but how rich. The more “supernatural” aspect fits harmoniously into a story constructed at the height of a child. With infinite delicacy, Céline Sciamma subtly approaches the theme of mourning and reconstruction through a story stripped of all affection. In this world where time barriers fall, the story also feeds on everything that Céline Sciamma suggests.

Without any superfluous effects, the filmmaker, who shot her film on the very places of her own childhood, echoes the magic that can arise when the first years of life are lived in a natural setting larger than oneself. She also evokes this need to understand the structure of her own family history.

Visually splendid, performed by admirably directed actors, Little mom is the work of an accomplished filmmaker, with a unique style. Although short (barely 72 minutes), this feature film is no less great.

Launched at the Berlin festival in 2021, during which a first version of this text was published, Little mom is now showing.

Indoors

Drama

Little mom

Celine Sciamma

With Josephine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse

1:12 a.m.

★★★★