Through wonderfully fantastic actresses, Celine Siama brings a thoughtful and compassionate story of emotionally resonant grief and love
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About two years after “A portrait of a girl on fireOf the director Celine Siama The film is coming “Little mother”- an intimate investigation of a relationship between a mother and her daughter, with a small dose of magical realism, which does not deter the story from being a beautifully filmed and heart-warming story. Through wonderfully fantastic actresses, Siama brings a thoughtful and compassionate story of emotionally resonant grief and love.
After losing her grandmother, eight-year-old Nelly (Josephine SansGoing out with her motherNina Maurice) And her father (Stefan and Rufen) Clean the house where the grandmother lives. Nelly’s mother finds it difficult to revisit her childhood home, and she leaves the packaging to Nelly and her father. While Nelly explores the area around the house, she meets with Marion (Gabriel Sans, Josephine’s reality sister), an eight-year-old girl very similar to Nelly. As the two forge a friendship, Nelly begins to speculate that Marion is actually her mother – and the relationship between them adds depth to Nelly’s understanding of her family after the loss.
The film deals with grief in a soft, sensitive way – and in all its forms. While Nellie mourns the loss of her grandmother, she also feels the effects of her mother’s departure (albeit temporarily). Her time with Marion offers her the closure she has never been able to reach with her family, with a few anecdotes from her mother’s youth that come to a sharper clarity as Nelly spends more time with Marion. Siama shows the obvious love between Nelly and Marion, and despite the distance between them, the closeness gap is bridged through the first relationship with the eight-year-old image of her mother.
The magical realism of the story adds so much crucial depth that the directing allows Nelly and Marion’s feelings – amazement, confusion, sorrow, love, understanding and sadness – to rise to the surface, flowing like waves on the beach. “Little mother”Is an exemplary film, with each of Siama’s filming lasting long enough for the characters and audience to merge with full weight into the evolving story and its emotional effects. The film is quiet, with the director (as she often does) leaving some of the soundtrack soundless. When music is finally played, it feels meaningful, poignant and timed to the development of the characters and the overall journey, making it even more memorable.
Siama is known for examining relationships between women, and “Little motherIs no different. It is intimate and childish in its curiosity and revelations, which is appropriate given how old the main character is. Crucially, the film is a loving depiction of the special bond between mothers and daughters, one that deals with understanding – no less than the affection and sadness of losing that connection. The film is a reminder that mothers were also once children, who had fears, hopes and dreams. Siama delivers the story gently and quickly (the film is relatively short) without forgetting that despite the fantastic element, it is still based on the power and love between Nelly and Marion.
Each interaction is thoughtful and constructed towards an exciting and satisfying conclusion that utilizes the journey and development of the main characters ’relationship. Loss and understanding are at the heart of the film, and Siama does wonders with the story, capturing blessings – what is often difficult to articulate – in a charming and profound way. “Little mother”Is the kind of film that exposes itself without being exaggerated, and shapes itself into a story that stays in the memory, for a while after the ending titles come up.
“Little Mom” | “Petite Maman” – now in theaters.